Senator BROWN (7:34 PM) —That is a very glib answer, isn't it? I would expect better of Senator Ellison—not of the government, but of Senator Ellison. It is a glib answer on a very serious matter. I inform the minister that I will pursue the matter through this debate. I want to get answers to the issues I have raised. I expect that we will not get them, but there is a challenge to the government. The debate we are having about this legislation on treason and terror must be couched in the framework of the government's proclivity towards ensuring that civil rights are upheld, notwithstanding this legislation. I am challenging the government to show its bona fides on this matter. There could be nothing more pertinent at the moment than its attitude towards two Australians citizens being—I submit—illegally held by a foreign country. The government is under enormous ethical and moral obligation to do something about it, not least to insist that those two citizens are repatriated to Australia. I will await further information on the matter, but not for very long.

I have given the reasons for moving these amendments to this definition of treason and the treatment of treason under this legislation. The government has given a very wide definition. It should have been tightened up; it is not tightened up. Therefore, I expect that the amendments will be entertained and, hopefully, passed by the rest of the Senate.