Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

The cybersecurity legislative package will strengthen our national cyber defences and build cyber resilience across the Australian economy. This suite of legislative reforms will implement seven initiatives under the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy, a key milestone towards the Australian government's vision of becoming a world leader in cybersecurity by 2030. There are three bills within this package: the Cyber Security Bill, proposing new legislation to rectify gaps in Australia's existing cybersecurity regulatory frameworks; the Intelligence Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Cyber Security) Bill, to introduce a limited-use provision for the Australian Signals Directorate, similar to the provisions related to the national cyber security coordinator under the Cyber Security Bill; and the Security of Critical Infrastructure and Other Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Response and Prevention) Bill, to amend the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018.

On 9 October Minister Burke referred the package to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

That committee has now handed down its report and recommended that, subject to implementation of the recommendations in its report, the package be passed by the parliament. The government agrees or agrees in principle to all 13 recommendations in the committee's report and, in line with recommendation 1, proposes the package be passed by the parliament. I thank the committee for its work on these bills through its inquiry and recommendations, and I thank all senators for their contributions to the debate on these important bills. On that basis, I commend the bills to the chamber.

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to.

Bills read a second time.