Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I'm advised that the issue was identified quite recently. In recent weeks it was identified that legislative amendments were required to ensure that the Attorney-General can continue to approve the communication and use of such information, in a manner that is appropriate, to address threats to Australia's national security.

More broadly, in terms of the amendment, the government will be opposing the amendment. It is not necessary to subject these provisions to a sunset clause. The amendments are required to clarify the intended purpose of the existing provisions of the act. The sharing of foreign intelligence information is essential to enabling the government to understand, mitigate and combat risks to Australia's national security.