Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

that the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) in 2013, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed that the rights held by people offline must also be protected online, and it called upon all States to respect and protect the right to privacy in digital communication,

  (ii) social media and online platforms that base their businesses on customer surveillance and advertising are not respecting or protecting individuals' right to privacy,

  (iii) on 25 May 2018, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect, for all companies that hold data within or as a result of doing business with citizens of the European Union (EU),

  (iv) under the GDPR, consent must be explicit for data collected and for the purposes for which data is used, and individuals will have the right of access to their personal data and information about how this personal data is being processed, a right to request erasure of personal data related to them, and a right to be able to transfer personal data from one electronic processing system to and into another,

  (v) the GDPR will include a strict data protection compliance regime with severe penalties of up to 4% of worldwide turnover or 20 million Euro, whichever is higher, and

  (vi) the GDPR represents current best practice regarding standards for the protection of data and, as many Australian businesses will need to comply with the GDPR, implementing a similar regime in Australia would be the most cost-effective way to improve data protection standards; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

  (i) support Australian businesses in complying with the GDPR, and

  (ii) look to the GDPR as a model of international best practice for privacy protections for Australians against companies that employ surveillance capitalism.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the Australian context, the collection, use, storage, access and disclosure of personal information by government agencies and certain private sector organisations is governed by the Privacy Act. The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation includes requirements that resemble those in the Privacy Act. The government recently strengthened the protections under the Privacy Act by introducing a Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. This scheme requires notification to affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where an entity that is subject to the Privacy Act experiences a data breach of personal information that poses a likely risk of serious harm to affected individuals.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor does not support this motion, which calls for significant changes to Australia's privacy laws without any consultation with the Australian community, based on EU laws that have not yet even come into force. While Labor believes that the EU's General Data Protection Regulation should be carefully examined by the Australian government as a model for possible legal reforms here, Labor holds that all proposals for major changes to Australian law should be carefully considered and consulted on by experts, key stakeholders and the wider Australia community.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a strange sight we have seen before us in the last two motions before this place. These were simple, non-radical proposals related to the protection of the data of Australian citizens to ensure that they have the right that they deserve to be able to access their data and give explicit consent to its use. One wants to ensure that all steps be taken to ensure that facial biometric recognition technology does not suffer from the same critical errors that we have seen in the US. This motion before us relates to enhancing to world's best practice the rights of Australians' data. I really do wonder what fears live in the hearts of the members of both of the parties opposite that they are not prepared to take these simple steps to safeguard the privacy rights of Australian citizens. I will proudly vote with my colleagues in support of this motion. (Time expired)

Question negatived.