Division Description Changes — Bills — National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures No. 2) Bill 2023; Third Reading — 7th Aug 2023

Change	Division
senate vote 2023-08-07#4 Edited by mackay staff on 2023-11-30 17:58:41	Title Bills — National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures No. 2) Bill 2023; Third Reading National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures No. 2) Bill 2023 - Third Reading - Pass the bill Description
senate vote 2023-08-07#4 Edited by mackay staff on 2023-11-30 17:58:18	Title Description ~~<p class="speaker">Murray Watt</p>~~ ~~<p>I move:</p>~~ <p class="italic">That the bill be now read a third time.</p> ~~<p class="speaker">James Paterson</p>~~ <p>I want to make a brief contribution on the third reading, because we are about to find out whether or not a deal has been done between the government and the Greens on membership of the PJCIS. The Greens just moved two amendments to this bill, which they said were important, and they have failed. Whether or not the Greens now support this bill through the chamber is a test of whether or not they were serious about the amendments they just moved or whether the prize of possible membership of the PJCIS for the Greens outweighs their concerns about the bill which they've just outlined. We're about to find out whether the government is willing to do a deal with the Greens on a matter of national security, because they are unwilling to negotiate and discuss their unilateral changes to PJCIS membership with the opposition. If this bill passes with the support of the Greens and the government, it will be clear that they have done a deal behind the scenes, without any public transparency, about the membership of the PJCIS, the parliament's most functional and bipartisan committee.</p> ~~<p class="speaker">Hon. Senators</p>~~ ~~<p>Honourable senators interjecting—</p>~~ ~~<p class="speaker">James Paterson</p>~~ <p>We will now know if the government is getting into bed with the Greens on national security. I suspect, given the strength of the response from the Greens just then, that they have done a deal with the government in secret—something that they just spent several hours outlining their concerns about. They said that this wasn't to happen and shouldn't happen on national security. This will be a test for the government and their apparent coalition partners, the Greens, when it comes to national security. Let the record show that the coalition has offered the government many pathways to resolving this issue in a bipartisan way. That option was available to them. If they've instead chosen a pathway with the Greens, let them be judged for it.</p> ~~<p class="speaker">David Shoebridge</p>~~ <p>We've always said that this was a balancing exercise for us. There are positive and negative elements in the bill. I want to say to the fevered imagination of Senator Paterson: just calm down, relax. I have made it clear on behalf of the Greens we take a bit of a Groucho Marx approach to this committee and that hasn't changed.</p> ~~<p class="speaker">Andrew McLachlan</p>~~ ~~<p>The question before the Senate is that the bill be now read a third time.</p>~~ ~~<p></p>~~ ~~<p></p>~~ The majority voted in favour of a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2023-08-07.74.1) to pass [the bill](https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:legislation/billhome/r7012) in the Senate. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read it for a third time. Since the bill has already passed in the House of Representatives, it will now become law. ### What does this bill do? According to the [bills digest](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2223a/23bd074): *> The purpose of the National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures Bill 2023 (*the Bill) is to amend Commonwealth legislation relating to national security and intelligence. Specifically, the Bill seeks to: > *> implement ten recommendations from* the 2019 [Comprehensive review of the legal framework of the national intelligence community](https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22library%2Flcatalog%2F01268304%22) (the Richardson Review)* > *> make changes to* the composition of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS)* > *> clarify* the level of detail required in a Ministerial direction to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) under the Intelligence Services Act 2001.* More specifically, the bills digest [summarises that the bill](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2223a/23bd074): * Removes the ability of the Attorney-General to delegate powers under the ASIO Act (except financial assistance powers). Limits* the ability of the Executive to confer the Attorney-General’s powers with respect to ASIO on another Minister.* * Provides new defences for ASIO relating to interference with facilities, unauthorised modification of data and impairment of electronic communication. * Increases the membership of PJCIS from 11 to 13* and specifies the composition of Senate and House members.* * Allows ASIO to use, record and disclose spent conviction information. * Requires the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) to report annually on public interest disclosures and complaints made to IGIS. * Removes the ability for the Ombudsman to investigate complaints concerning ASIS, the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO), the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the Office of National Intelligence (ONI) and the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO). * Removes freedom of information (FOI) exemptions for the AGO for documents* related to the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO).* * Requires Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) proceedings in relation to security records to be heard in the Security Division of the AAT. Narrows the circumstances in which IGIS is required to provide evidence to the AAT. * Clarifies the level of detail required in a Ministerial direction to the ASIS.

~~Murray Watt~~
~~I move:~~
That the bill be now read a third time.
~~James Paterson~~
I want to make a brief contribution on the third reading, because we are about to find out whether or not a deal has been done between the government and the Greens on membership of the PJCIS. The Greens just moved two amendments to this bill, which they said were important, and they have failed. Whether or not the Greens now support this bill through the chamber is a test of whether or not they were serious about the amendments they just moved or whether the prize of possible membership of the PJCIS for the Greens outweighs their concerns about the bill which they've just outlined. We're about to find out whether the government is willing to do a deal with the Greens on a matter of national security, because they are unwilling to negotiate and discuss their unilateral changes to PJCIS membership with the opposition. If this bill passes with the support of the Greens and the government, it will be clear that they have done a deal behind the scenes, without any public transparency, about the membership of the PJCIS, the parliament's most functional and bipartisan committee.
~~Hon. Senators~~
~~Honourable senators interjecting—~~
~~James Paterson~~
We will now know if the government is getting into bed with the Greens on national security. I suspect, given the strength of the response from the Greens just then, that they have done a deal with the government in secret—something that they just spent several hours outlining their concerns about. They said that this wasn't to happen and shouldn't happen on national security. This will be a test for the government and their apparent coalition partners, the Greens, when it comes to national security. Let the record show that the coalition has offered the government many pathways to resolving this issue in a bipartisan way. That option was available to them. If they've instead chosen a pathway with the Greens, let them be judged for it.
~~David Shoebridge~~
We've always said that this was a balancing exercise for us. There are positive and negative elements in the bill. I want to say to the fevered imagination of Senator Paterson: just calm down, relax. I have made it clear on behalf of the Greens we take a bit of a Groucho Marx approach to this committee and that hasn't changed.
~~Andrew McLachlan~~
~~The question before the Senate is that the bill be now read a third time.~~
~~~~
~~~~
The majority voted in favour of a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2023-08-07.74.1) to pass [the bill](https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:legislation/billhome/r7012) in the Senate. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read it for a third time. Since the bill has already passed in the House of Representatives, it will now become law.
### What does this bill do?
According to the [bills digest](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2223a/23bd074):
> *The purpose of the National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures Bill 2023 (the Bill) is to amend Commonwealth legislation relating to national security and intelligence. Specifically, the Bill seeks to:*
>
> * *implement ten recommendations from the 2019 [Comprehensive review of the legal framework of the national intelligence community](https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22library%2Flcatalog%2F01268304%22) (the Richardson Review)*
>
> * *make changes to the composition of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS)*
>
> * *clarify the level of detail required in a Ministerial direction to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) under the Intelligence Services Act 2001.*
More specifically, the bills digest [summarises that the bill](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2223a/23bd074):
* *Removes the ability of the Attorney-General to delegate powers under the ASIO Act (except financial assistance powers). Limits the ability of the Executive to confer the Attorney-General’s powers with respect to ASIO on another Minister.*
* *Provides new defences for ASIO relating to interference with facilities, unauthorised modification of data and impairment of electronic communication.*
* *Increases the membership of PJCIS from 11 to 13 and specifies the composition of Senate and House members.*
* *Allows ASIO to use, record and disclose spent conviction information.*
* *Requires the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) to report annually on public interest disclosures and complaints made to IGIS.*
* *Removes the ability for the Ombudsman to investigate complaints concerning ASIS, the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO), the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the Office of National Intelligence (ONI) and the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO).*
* *Removes freedom of information (FOI) exemptions for the AGO for documents related to the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO).*
* *Requires Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) proceedings in relation to security records to be heard in the Security Division of the AAT. Narrows the circumstances in which IGIS is required to provide evidence to the AAT.*
* *Clarifies the level of detail required in a Ministerial direction to the ASIS.*