David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a few brief remarks about the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2014. I am doing so both in my capacity as a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and also as chair of the government's legal affairs policy committee, which has carriage of these matters.

Firstly, I reject outright the imputation that was just raised about the motivations of the government—that somehow the whole move towards this legislation and these measures is an attempt to divert attention away from other issues. It is an outrageous claim, particularly given—