Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Legislation Amendment Bill 2018. This bill is an amendment to the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018, the FITS Act; and the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Act 2018, otherwise known as the EFI Act, which both passed through the parliament in June of 2018. The FITS Act creates a registration scheme for persons undertaking certain activities on behalf of foreign governments, for foreign government related entities, foreign political organisations and foreign government related individuals. The EFI Act, which deals with overlapping subject matter, stipulates that persons who have existing arrangements, once the scheme commences, have a six-month grace period before they are expected to comply.

The government has announced that the registration scheme is due to come into effect on 10 December this year. The Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018 makes two major changes to these existing arrangements. It amends the EFI Act to shorten the grace period for compliance for those parties with existing arrangements from six months to three months. It also stipulates that, if writs for a federal election are issued within that three-month period, parties will only have 14 days to comply. It amends the FITS Act to stipulate that past registrations will still be available publicly and searchable on the internet, not just current registrations. Without this change, past affiliations or arrangements with foreign political organisations or foreign government related individuals will disappear from public view once they expire.

The first change is designed to account for the expected timing of an upcoming federal election—whenever that may be. With the scheme coming into effect on 10 December 2018, if the six-month grace period were not shortened, registration obligations would not come into effect until June 2019, after the election. With the proposed change they would come into effect in March 2019. The second change appears to be an oversight by the government in the original bill, which is, of course, regrettable. It's clearly in the public interest for past associations with foreign political organisations or foreign government related entities to be on the public record.

These amendments should perhaps be a sign to the government that taking the time to make good law, when it comes to national security, is a good thing—a lesson that, apparently, they have not learned. Though not ideal, the committee process for both the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill and the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill was cooperative and productive. The committee report on the latter bill contained more than 60 recommendations—the most relating to any bill that has ever been before that committee. It shows you, perhaps, the magnitude and the difficulty of the work that this committee does on a regular basis.

Labor supports this bill, as it is an extension of support for the original bill. We supported the original Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018 and the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Act 2018 on the basis that foreign interference in our political system, if it is malign, is unacceptable, and, even if it's benign, it should nevertheless be transparent. Both changes are technical rather than substantive. While we regret that these matters were not dealt with in the original legislation, we support those amendments now.