Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] I rise to speak on my referral of the Foreign Intelligence Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. I'm calling on the senators in this place to refer this bill to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee to allow for proper scrutiny by the parliament and the people.

The way this bill is being rammed through this chamber is remarkable. The Liberal Party always say that they're a broad church—so broad, in fact, that it seems that they also take in a big chunk of the Labor Party. This bill was referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, also known as the Lib-Lab closed shop, for a secret review and a final report by Friday 20 August 2021. That was done by the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon. Karen Andrews MP. The PJCIS recommended the bill be passed—no surprises there—subject to two amendments, requiring reporting to the PJCIS in certain circumstances and review of provisions after five years. The bill and explanatory memorandum were referred on an embargoed basis, as the bill had not yet been tabled in parliament. The committee agreed to the government's request to consider this legislation quickly and in private. The committee held a classified briefing on Monday 23 August 2021 with officials from relevant agencies—again, another closed shop. Good old democracy in Canberra!

Now the two old parties want to tell us that the legislation is for our own good and so absolutely important to the running of this country and the alleged protection of the Commonwealth that we are just meant to pass it without reviewing it. You want us to pass something that we can't even review because your closed shop think it's all okay. Maybe my colleagues have forgotten that this chamber is a house of review. Correct me if I'm wrong. This is absolutely disgusting. It's in contempt of democracy and should not be allowed. If you're scared of proper debate and scrutiny of laws, maybe think about why you are here. Let's take this to a committee so that we can properly scrutinise this bill. I ask all of my fellow senators to support this referral so that the people have an opportunity to have real transparency and accountability from the so-called politicians in Canberra who are running this country.