Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will speak very briefly on the Identity Verification Services Bill 2023 because I know other senators want to speak, and there's not much time to speak. I will make three points.

The first point is in relation to timing of the process. The Law Council of Australia said:

It is troubling that such a short reporting period has been imposed on this inquiry, providing a little over two weeks for stakeholders to make submissions about a proposed legislative framework for identity verification services …

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The Law Council is concerned that the timeframe for this inquiry does not reasonably enable the Committee to carefully scrutinise whether the Bills strike the correct balance.

It is very disturbing when the Law Council of Australia makes that comment with respect to a process.

The second point I will make is again a quote from the Law Council of Australia. I think the government needs to reflect on this as it takes forward its review of the Privacy Act and also of the Digital ID Bill. The Law Council said:

As a general comment, the fragmented approach to privacy and data reform that is illustrated by these bills is not conducive to promoting harmonisation and clarity across Australia's digital identity, privacy and identity verification frameworks. The Law Council reiterates its call for a roadmap of the harmonisation of Australia's privacy and data laws to ensure the development of a national privacy framework that is consistent, clear and accessible.

The government would do well to heed those words. My colleague Senator Shoebridge, who makes an outstanding contribution on the Legal and Constitutional Affairs committees on which I serve with him, raised the issue of consent. Can I just say that expressed consent is one thing, but it also can't be Hobson's choice. It's got to be a real choice for people with respect to these matters.

The last point is to thank the members of the Attorney-General's Department for their work in relation to the bill. There were a lot of amendments that had to be made in a short period of time, and it was a pleasure to engage with them through the committee process, so thank you very much. I acknowledge Senator Anita Green for her chairing of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. We have robust debate, but she always chairs it very well. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the input from Ms Shohini Sengupta, of the University of New South Wales Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation, and also Ms Olga Ganopolsky, the chair of the Privacy Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.