Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the first report of 2021 of the Selection of Bills Committee. I seek leave to have the report incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The report read as follows—

SELECTION OF BILLS COMMITTEE

REPORT NO. 1 OF 2021

1. The committee met in private session on Wednesday, 3 February 2021 at 7.15 pm.

2. The committee recommends that—

(a) the COAG Reform Fund Amendment (No Electric Vehicle Taxes) Bill 2020 be referred immediately to the Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 30 April 2021 (see appendix 1 for a statement of reasons for referral);

(b) the provisions of the Data Availability and Transparency Bill 2020 and the Data Availability and Transparency (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020 be referred immediately to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 29 April 2021 (see appendix 2 for a statement of reasons for referral);

(c) the provisions of the Migration and Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Information Provisions) Bill 2020 be referred immediately to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 10 March 2021 (see appendix 3 for a statement of reasons for referral); and

(d) the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Benefit to Australia) Bill 2020 be referred immediately to the Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 11 March 2021 (see appendix 4 for a statement of reasons for referral).

3. The committee recommends that the following bills not be referred to committees:

4. The committee deferred consideration of the following bills to its next meeting:

(Dean Smith)

Chair

4 February 2021

Appendix 1

SELECTION OF BILLS COMMITTEE

Name of bill: COAG Reform Fund Amendment (No Electric Vehicle Taxes) Bill 2020

Reasons for referral/principal issues for consideration: Examination of the implications of this bill, which would address barriers to the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia.

Possible submissions or evidence from:

Committee to which bill is to be referred: Senate Economics Committee

Possible hearing date(s): 3 hearings to be held subject to the Committee diary

Possible reporting date: 30 April 2021

(Senator Siewert)

Appendix 2

SELECTION OF BILLS COMMITTEE

Proposal to refer a bill to a committee

Name of bill: Data Availability and Transparency Bill 2020; Data Availability and Transparency (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020

Reasons for referral/principal issues for consideration: To consider legal, ethical and privacy ramifications of the Bill in relation to sharing of Australians' data.

Possible submissions or evidence from: Privacy and data experts including leading tech lawyer Peter Leonard (Data Synergies), Jordan Wilson-Otto (Victorian Director of GovHack)), Dr Thalia Anthony ({Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney), Michele Bahari (Senior privacy professional - International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)) Tim de Sousa (International Association of Privacy Professionals), Anna Johnston (Principal, Salinger Privacy), James Logan ({Information security professional), Melanie Marks (Principal of e/evenM).

Committee to which bill is to be referred: Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee.

Possible hearing date(s): To be determined by the committee

Possible reporting date: 29 April 2021

(Senator Urquhart)

SELECTION OF BILLS COMMITTEE

Proposal to refer a bill to a committee

Name of bill: Data Availability and Transparency B ill 2020

Reasons for referral/principal issues for consideration:

Privacy Act 1988

Possible submissions or evidence from:

Committee to which bill is to be referred: Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Possible hearing date(s): TBC

Possible reporting date: 23 June 2021

(Senator Siewert)

Appendix 3

SELECTION OF BILLS COMMITTEE

Proposal to refer a bill to a committee

Name of bill: Migration and Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Information Provisions) Bill 2020

Reasons for referral/principal issues for consideration :

Possible submissions or evidence from:

Public interest, transparency and accountability (inc. FOI), legal, human rights, and refugee advocates and experts

Committee to which bill is to be referred: Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Possible hearing date(s): TBC

Possible reporting date : 20 May 2021

(Senator Siewert)

SELECTION OF BILLS COMMITTEE

Proposal to refer a bill to a committee:

Name of bill: Migration and Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Information Provisions) Bill 2020

Reasons for referral/principal issues for consideration: Allow for stakeholder feedback and investigation of proposed legislation

Possible submissions or evidence from:

Committee to which bill is to be referred: Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee

Possible hearing date(s): To be determined by the committee

Possible reporting date: Wednesday 10 March 2021

(Senator Urquhart)

Appendix 4

SELECTION OF BILLS COMMITTEE

Proposal to refer a bill to a committee

Name of bill: Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Benefit to Australia) Bill 2020

Reasons for referral/principal issues for consideration: To consider the impact of a new object clause on decision making in the OPGGS Act.

Possible submissions or evidence from: Foreign owned hydrocarbon companies who deal with NOPTA and NOPSEMA, Greenpeace, Joint Authorities, Minister for Resources, Joint Authorities.

Committee to which bill is to be referred: Standing Committee on Economics – Legislature

Possible hearing date(s):

Possible reporting date: 25 February 2021

(Senator Hanson)

I move:

That the report be adopted.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

At the end of the motion, add "and, in respect of the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 and the Intelligence Oversight and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity Measures) Bill 2020, the bills not be referred to committees".

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just wish to speak briefly to the amendment proposed by Senator Duniam on behalf of the government.

Both of the bills that the amendment refers to continue with a cavalcade of legislation that has been presented to this parliament in recent years which significantly expands the powers of Australia's intelligence agencies and security apparatus. I remind colleagues that Australia remains the only liberal democracy on the planet which does not have some form of charter or bill of rights either constitutionally enshrined or as part of our statutes. Without those protections, this government—and it has to be said, with Labor in absolute lockstep most of the time—continues to grant sweeping new powers to our intelligence agencies, often without adequate scrutiny. And here we go again!

Senator Duniam wants to ensure that this Senate is not able to inquire into the details of this legislation. I remind colleagues and the Australian people that this legislation creates last-resort powers for our intelligence agencies—or, at least, one of them in the Australian Signals Directorate—that would allow the ASD to install programs and access, add, restore, copy, alter or delete data, and to alter the functioning of digital hardware or remove digital hardware entirely from a premises.

Many tech companies have expressed significant concern about the powers in this legislation and I want to place it firmly on the record that the Australian Greens share those significant concerns. We are seeing a power hungry government ride roughshod over the rights and freedoms of Australians by giving significant extra powers to our intelligence and security agencies, and they want to do it without even allowing the Senate an opportunity to inquire into the impact of these powers being granted and any unintended consequences to these powers being granted.

So we will oppose this amendment and we want to place firmly on the record that Australia needs a bill of rights or a charter of rights in order to protect the rights and freedoms that so many in the Liberal Party love to talk about but never come in here to defend. In fact, they come in here, time after time, to remove those rights and freedoms from the Australian people. We won't be supporting this amendment because these bills should be referred to a Senate inquiry.

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

I'll put the amendment, which I'm assuming has been circulated. The question is that the amendment to the motion for adoption of the Selection of Bills Committee report, as moved by Senator Duniam, be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

Original question, as amended, agreed to.