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Stronger safeguards needed in new security legislation, says LCA
A new bill to help intelligence agencies address critical challenges needs to be clearly outlined to the Australian public, according to the Law Council of Australia.
Lauren Croft
The National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures No.1) Bill 2021 is part of the government’s response to the Comprehensive Review of the Legal Framework of the National Intelligence Community and, according to the government, will help intelligence and security agencies keep Australians safe.
LCA president Tass Liveris said there are “several aspects” of the proposed legislation that require further consideration, particularly the “supporting justification for measures which conflict with, or exceed, recommendations of recent independent reviews of intelligence legislation”.
“The Comprehensive Review of the Legal Framework for the National Intelligence Community considered this proposal and recommended against it, because there was insufficient evidence of its necessity. The explanatory materials to the bill do not clearly explain why existing cooperation mechanisms are considered inadequate,” he said.
“For example, ASIO can already second ASIS staff to work on its intelligence operations, so that those ASIS officers fall directly under ASIO’s operational command when collecting intelligence in Australia, including on Australians. The amendments would mean there are two intelligence agencies operating covertly inside Australia, targeting the same persons or matters.
“Further, ASIS would not be required to obtain ministerial authorisation to undertake domestic intelligence collection activities in support of ASIO. The explanatory materials do not offer specific justification for adopting a model of internal, agency level approval.”
Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews said in a statement that Australia’s national security laws must “keep pace” in an increasingly interconnected and digital world – and maintained that the bill “strikes the right balance between protecting individual rights and freedoms, and protecting the community from emerging threats to our security”.
“Australians can trust the Morrison government to back our intelligence agencies with robust legislation that supports the values and principles that underpin our way of life.
“Once passed by the Parliament, the measures introduced today will allow Australia’s intelligence agencies to respond quickly to help save Australian lives in emergency situations overseas; identify and respond to terrorist threats more quickly; and strengthen co-operation between agencies,” she said.
“The bill also ensures that agencies remain subject to robust oversight and accountability mechanisms, including ministerial oversight and requirements for reporting to the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, at all times.”
Furthermore, the LCA also recommended targeted amendments to the separate measures in schedules one to four to the bill, which would reduce authorisation requirements for agencies to collect intelligence on Australian persons who are outside Australia.
“The Law Council could only support these measures if a compelling explanation of their necessity, which directly addresses these questions, is provided publicly,” Mr Liveris added.
“While the Law Council has no ‘in-principle’ objections to these changes, we have identified opportunities for more precisely targeted powers and stronger safeguards.”
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
