Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Communications. Last week it was revealed by Channel 7's The Nightly that telecommunications companies in Victoria are charging for information desperately needed by police to search for murdered Victorian mother Samantha Murphy. Not only were they charging the police for this information; they were delaying passage of it to the police. A former homicide detective told The Nightly that police face financial, legal and technical barriers in their attempts to access phone data. The Victorian shadow police minister said: 'Delays in investigations are devastating to the families of victims and to think anyone is profiting while families suffer is appalling.' A mother is missing, and the telcos are charging the police to help find her. How shameful is that? Is the minister aware that the telecommunications companies are slow to deliver vital data that could help with police investigations?

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

Thanks, Senator Lambie. I am aware of the reports that you are referring to. If those reports are true, that would of course be of great concern, I think, to all Australians. The Australian government is committed to keeping Australians safe, including working with law enforcement and working with industry to achieve that. The information provided by telecommunication carriers to emergency services is essential to keeping people safe from harm and supporting investigations.

Senator Lambie, as you may be aware, there is an ability for telecommunications companies to recover the costs of providing this kind of information. That ability is provided for under the Telecommunications Act. But it's limited in the sense that telecommunications carriers or carriage service providers cannot profit from the data they provide. So they are legally allowed to recover the cost of providing that information but they can't profit from that. I think that is something that all Australians would agree with. This cost recovery model has a long-established framework in telecommunications law in our country. The Albanese government certainly expects telecommunication providers to support our emergency services and our police services in these kinds of investigations. We encourage them to provide information as soon as possible to support their needs.

I think all of us have been very disturbed by this particular incident. It must be horrible for Ms Murphy's family to have to go on, day by day, without her body being found. It is an extremely distressing incident not only for her family but for many others as well, and we would certainly be encouraging telecommunications providers to assist the police investigation in any way they possibly can.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, a first supplementary?

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's not just the slow delivery of this data that is worrying; it's also the cost, which you have mentioned. In 2022 the Western Australian Commissioner of Police, Col Blanch, revealed telco fees for this crucial data had risen from $600,000 in the 2018-19 financial year to $1 million over a period of 12 months. Tasmania Police said they had spent $90,000 on requests for data from telcos last financial year. The bottom line is that you have a problem here, and I want to know how you're going to fix it. How are you going to fix it? They are obstructionists in an investigation. Your method is not working. How are you going to fix it? (Time expired)

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

Thanks, Senator Lambie. Again, I understand that this has been reported in the media. I just want to be cautious about accepting that that is absolutely correct. But, if it is correct, as I say, that is of real concern to us. I've already made clear that our government expects telecommunications providers to cooperate with police investigations, to supply whatever data they have available to them to assist with that and to follow the law in terms of what they charge for that. Under the Telecommunications Act, telecommunications providers are required to provide assistance to the Commonwealth, states and territories, and they are required to provide such help as is reasonably necessary for certain purposes, which includes enforcing the criminal law. As I've explained, under the act providers must comply with that requirement on the basis that they neither profit from nor bear the costs of assisting those investigations. We expect the law to be upheld. We expect telecommunications providers to comply with the law.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, second supplementary.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Telecommunications Act states that providers must 'neither profit from nor bear the cost of' providing such assistance to policing authorities. Can the minister please tell the Senate why the minister is not holding telcos to account when the provision of information is time critical to investigations? You are part of the problem. Answer the question. What are you going to do about it? It is not working.

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

Thanks, Senator Lambie. As I said, the Albanese government expects telecommunications providers to comply with the law. Whatever action can be taken under the Telecommunications Act will be taken to ensure that that is the case. I must admit, I haven't seen anything in terms of what has been reported regarding telecommunications providers overcharging for that data. If there is any evidence that that is the case, then I would invite you to present that to us so that action can be taken. As you have noted, Senator Lambie, under the act, providers are entitled to recover their costs of providing that data, but they are not entitled to profit from that data. If it is the case that they are profiting from it, we would be very interested in knowing about that, whether it is information that you have—media outlets or others as well—so that the appropriate action can be taken.