Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

With respect to these Greens amendments, (10) and (11) would prevent extension of the sunset provision to ASIO powers—questioning warrants and detention warrants. Labor believes that we do face an especial security threat at this time and we are willing to extend extraordinary measures in order to equip our agencies to deal with this. We do not accept that these powers must stand for all time, and they must be subject to sunsets and to reviews, which has now been resolved. The intelligence committee substantially wound back the proposed ten-year period to just two years after the next election. We insisted on shorter sunsetting and on statutory review. This is the right and responsible approach to the present special security challenges.

Regarding amendments (14) and (15), these would prevent the extension of sunset provisions to AFP powers—preventative detention and control orders. Again, I highlight the special security threat that we face at this time and that we are willing to extend extraordinary measures in order to equip our agencies to deal with this. We do not accept that these powers must stand, as I have said, for all time. They are subject to sunset and review, as I have mentioned, two years after the next election or on the date Senator Brandis has highlighted, rather than the originally proposed 10 years or, indeed, as was discussed earlier, the potential that there be no limit at all. We believe these are sensible and balanced measures that ensure that we do have a review and a sunset. For that reason we are opposing all of these Greens amendments.

The CHAIRMAN: The question is that items 33, 43 to 45, and 86, 87, 107 and 108, on schedule 1, stand as printed.