Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. The government does not support this motion. Section 164 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 requires the annual report to be tabled up to 15 sitting days after the Attorney-General has received it. The government has yet to receive the report. The preparation of the annual report involves the compilation of information from over 100 Commonwealth, state and territory agencies. The time at which tabling occurs has varied from year to year under successive governments and has previously occurred any time from December through to late March. As much as Senator Ludlam would wish this to be some sort of government conspiracy, I regret to advise him that that is not the case.