Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Collins, that is right. I do not have a life, not in this place.

Senator Leyonhjelm interjecting—

I am not being prolix, Senator Leyonhjelm. I do want to put this on notice, because I have made the assertions I have made in good faith in terms of the Department of Justice in the United States and their media policies. I am happy to table or provide a copy of this material to the Attorney's office. It says:

The first and most significant policy change would be to reverse and expand the presumption concerning notice to, and negotiations with, affected members of the news media whenever Department attorneys seek access to their records related to newsgathering activities.

In other words, metadata. It goes on to say:

The presumption will ensure notice in all but the most exceptional cases.

I can go on, but that is the basis of the material that I read over a number of months now that there is, as a general policy, an ability to negotiate, an ability for there to be discussions, with media organisations in respect of this. That is the practice following the disastrous Associated Press raid in Washington DC a couple of years ago. That is the distinction. Obviously, there are exceptions that, if it is a matter of urgent national security in the context of people's safety being at risk, those rules are thrown out the window. But, as a general proposition, I am very happy to provide not a set of cuff links but the material that I have downloaded from the US Department of Justice that does talk about protocols and about how, as a general rule, there are negotiations before the access to metadata. So it is not a criticism of your very fine advisers but the basis upon which I made those statements in relation to that.