Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Brandis in his capacity as Attorney-General. Senator Brandis, today was meant to be the day that the $300 million Turnbull-Shorten mandatory data retention scheme came into force. Instead, it appears that more than 80 per cent of telecommunications carriers have not had their implementation plan signed off by the Attorney-General's Department, owing to the complexity of implementation and to ambiguities in the law itself. Why are Australians effectively being taxed to fund their own surveillance, when—for as little as 15 cents a day to download a few apps and following a few helpful crypto-tips from Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull—the system can be bypassed and rendered ineffective?