George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, I am trying to address your question on why it is that these provisions exist in our law, and I have tried to explain to you and to Senator Leyonhjelm as best I can the rationale for those provisions. This particular organisation, as I understand it, has a variety of different activities, and the advice to us of the intelligence professionals is that, because of at least some aspects of its activities, it should be listed as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code, and it is. But I should also point out to you that within this bill there is a narrower listing provision so that not all organisations listed under the Criminal Code are organisations to which the relevant provisions of this bill will apply. It is only those from within the existing list of proscribed terrorist organisations that the minister administering this bill declares. So there is, as it were, a process of double declaration.