Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General, Senator Brandis. I quote from the Attorney-General's humiliating interview on Sky News on the proposed changes to metadata collection, in which he said:

What people are viewing on the internet when they web surf is not going to be caught. What will be caught is the web address they communicate to.

Does the Attorney-General stand by that explanation?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Collins, for at last asking me a question since you have been the shadow spokesman in the Senate. Yes, Senator Collins, you are absolutely correct that the government has no intentions of collecting a person's web-surfing history. The instruction that we have given to those who are preparing legislation makes it clear that we have no intention of asking for that material to be collected. As I explained to Senator Ludlam when he asked about this matter yesterday, we are not asking for any additional powers for the agencies in relation to metadata, nor are we asking the telecoms providers and the ISPs to do anything beyond what they currently do. But we are concerned that with changing business practices, and in particular changing practices in relation to business records, there may be a degradation of capacity, which is why the government, on 5 August, made an in-principle decision to mandate for the retention of metadata. You have to distinguish entirely, Senator Collins, between that requirement and the legislation to provide the agencies with new powers. That is a separate issue. We are not asking for any additional powers in relation to metadata at all.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, Attorney, I do understand what the issue is. Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I refer again to the Attorney-General's comments on Sky News, including the explanation: 'What the security agencies want to know, what they want to be retained, is the electronic address of the website that the web user is using.' They are your words, Minister. Given that the government's discussion paper on this issue now excludes destination IP addresses, or URLs, can we now be confident that this will be the case? (Time expired)

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes. Senator Collins, as I explained to Senator Ludlam yesterday and as I am trying explain to you, we have given certain instructions in relation to the legislation that is being prepared for the retention of metadata. Those instructions have made clear that a person's web browsing history will not be retained. That has never been the government's intention. It will not be retained, and I never said anything to the contrary.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That comment will stand against the quotes that I just alluded to. Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the Attorney-General confirm that the Minister for Communications was only informed of the proposed changes to metadata collection after he read about it in the Daily Telegraph, and has the Attorney-General thanked the communications minister for cleaning up his mess?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have a lot to be thankful to the communications minister for, because to a greater extent than anybody else in this parliament, including, if I may say, your good self, Senator Collins—

Senator Conroy interjecting—

or you, Senator Conroy, Mr Turnbull has a deep and sophisticated knowledge of this area. Senator Collins, what you need to grasp in your mind, what you need to grapple with, is that, unlike the previous government, this government runs an orthodox cabinet process, and all decisions of cabinet are the collective decisions of all members of cabinet.