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

As the opposition is well aware, the Attorney-General has claimed public interest immunity in relation to the documents that were the subject of the orders for production Nos. 472 and 501.

While the parliament has the power to require the production of documents, it has also been acknowledged by the parliament that the government holds some information which, in the public interest, should not be disclosed. In this case, the Attorney-General has made clear that the disclosure of the information requested would, or might reasonably be expected to, disclose information that would be damaging to Australia's national security. This is an accepted ground on which a public interest immunity claim can be made. In fact, I would note that claims of public interest immunity on this ground were repeatedly made by ministers in the former coalition government.

The Attorney-General claimed public interest immunity after receiving advice from relevant agencies on the expected impact if the information was to be disclosed. The order requests documents relating to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The position of the government on the IRGC is clear. The IRGC is a malignant actor that has long been a threat to international security. The Gillard government understood this and placed broad based sanctions on the IRGC as a whole in 2010. The Albanese government has also recognised the threat it presents. That is why we have taken meaningful action, including sanctioning 60 IRGC linked officials and 55 IRGC linked entities since September 2022.

What I've heard from some of those opposite is a bit rich considering they said nothing and did nothing on Iran during nine long years in government—not one new sanction on Iran. More sanctions have been imposed on Iran by this government than under any previous Australian government. I would also note that listings under the criminal code apply to non-state actors this and not to state actors. These are the same listing provisions that applied when those opposite were in government and have not changed. The IRGC is a fully formed part of the Iranian state. State actors cannot be listed as terrorist organisations. The position of the Attorney-General on these documents is clear: the disclosure of the documents would, or might reasonably be expected to, disclose information that would be damaging to Australia's national security. This is the basis upon which the Attorney-General has claimed public interest immunity. That claim stands.