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Thursday, 25 September 2014
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Senator LUDLAM (Western Australia) (19:43): The Australian Greens strongly support this proposal. The Greens have not sought to amend the bill to remove the provisions relating to SIOs. We figured it would be simpler to express our opposition simply be voting against the bill. But I think Senator Leyonhjelm has brought forward an extremely valuable point that reflects a huge number of the submissions that were made in relation to this bill from different parties right across the political spectrum—from the Law Council and from others who we have quoted during the debate—that the entire SIO framework is extremely flawed. Just how flawed it is we will debate in a little bit more detail when we discuss amendments that are forthcoming, around the reporting and transmission of information about them.

But the very least that we can do, if the legislation is to stay on the statute books, is to ensure—just to give you one example—that an Independent National Security Legislation Monitor evaluating how these instruments are being used in practice could well recommend to a future parliament that they lapse. If I had had the presence of mind to draft the amendment I suspect that I would not have let it lie for 10 full years, but it is Senator Leyonhjelm's drafting. We will be supporting it, and I hope the government will as well.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN: The question is that amendment (3) on sheet 7579 be agreed to.

Question negatived.