Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

To be clear about this, it is one of those questions to which a negative response obviously creates more interest for the people that Senator Ludlam is interested in. But can I say the intelligence activities of all Australian government agencies are conducted in strict accordance with Australian law. Australian law vigorously protects the rights and privacies of every Australian, including in relation to any communications interception activity. Intelligence agencies are required by law to obtain specific authorisation, either from the Minister for Defence or the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to produce intelligence on any Australian, and for matters relating to threats to security the Attorney-General must also support the approval. All such activities are subject as well to independent review by the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security. (Time expired)