Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. Labor senators, of course, will have more to say on this issue when the bill comes before the Senate. Today I want to take the opportunity to speak to the process that the parliamentary joint committee went through in reviewing the bill. In particular, I would like to highlight some of the issues that Labor members were focused on through the committee process.

Labor supports the intent of this bill. We acknowledge the threat that terrorism poses for Australians and our responsibility to curtail this risk. We also acknowledge the extraordinary nature of the provisions that this bill seeks to establish. Our concern has been to ensure that proper scrutiny was applied to the provisions of this bill, and as always we seek to strike the appropriate balance.