Derryn Hinch (Victoria, Derryn Hinch's Justice Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Chairman, as probably the only person in this chamber who has ever worn an electronic tracking device—for five months—let me try to explain to you that the person probably would not know that their tracking device was not working. The tracking device is a gadget in your house, but it is the people who are monitoring the tracking device who will know that it is not working—because there is movement by you and the device is not showing where you are going or what you are doing. The Attorney-General is right when he talks about trivial matters—like four hours being four hours and 15 minutes—because I was escorted down to the justice department when I was back late from a one-hour, doctor-approved exercise time in my courtyard—walking around, like Rudolf Hess being the last prisoner in Spandau jail. I was 28 seconds late back, from my device, and was threatened with being incarcerated for being in breach. So when you are talking about it being four hours, or five hours or whatever it is, it will be the people at the other end, the officials, who will decide. It will be the AFP, if that is the case, who will say: 'This device is not working; we must do something about it.'