Statement on the tabling of the Government’s response to reviews of national security legislation and the public report of the Inquiry by the Hon. John Clarke QC into the case of Dr Mohamed Haneef

Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices, Sydney

23 December 2008, 11.00am

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Introduction

  1. Today the Government tabled in Parliament its comprehensive response to outstanding reviews of national security legislation from the term of the former Government.
  2. At the same time, the Government has tabled in Parliament the public report of the Inquiry by the Hon. John Clarke QC into the case of Dr Mohamed Haneef, and the Government’s response to that report. This has been made possible by the conclusion of terrorism trials in the United Kingdom arising from the attempted terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow in June 2006.

Mr Clarke’s Report

  1. I will first address Mr Clarke’s Report.
  2. It is not my intention to provide a narrative or commentary on the Report – the Report speaks for itself in respect to the matters concerning the arrest, detention and charging of Dr Haneef as well as the cancellation of his visa and the issuing of a criminal justice stay certificate.
  3. More broadly, when I announced the Clarke Inquiry I made it clear that the Government’s primary objective was to get the facts of the case, and to ensure Australia’s security agencies are functioning as well as they possibly can, both individually and collectively.
  4. Mr Clarke has acknowledged that agencies have been working to establish greater cooperation and interoperability consistent with the recommendations of the Street Review that were published in March of this year.
  5. In addition, Mr Clarke has made further recommendations for ensuring a whole-of-government approach to national security and law enforcement.
  6. The report represents 7 months of detailed examination and analysis by Mr Clarke and his staff.
  7. I thank them for their dedication. They have produced a Report which is balanced, thorough and constructive.
  8. The Government has accepted all 10 of Mr Clarke’s recommendations and is moving to implement them.
  9. The details of the Government’s response are summarised in the document tabled in Parliament today. Statement on the tabling of the Government’s response to reviews of national security legislation and the public report of the Inquiry by the Hon. John Clarke QC on the case of Dr Mohamed Haneef 23 December 2008

Other reforms

  1. Next I would like to turn to the other reforms tabled in Parliament today.
  2. The documents which have been tabled provide comprehensive responses to recommendations made by bipartisan parliamentary committees and independent reviews of Australia’s counter-terrorism laws over the past three years, in particular the:
    • Review of Sedition Laws in Australia by the Australian Law Reform Commission in July 2006;
    • Review of Security and Counter-Terrorism Legislation by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security in December 2006 (which took into account the recommendations of the Sheller Committee from April 2006);
    • Inquiry into the proscription of ‘terrorist organisations’ under the Australian Criminal Code by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security in September 2007; and the
    • Inquiry by the Hon. John Clarke QC into the case of Dr Mohamed Haneef in November 2008.
  3. The Government’s response adopts most of the recommendations made by these reviews. Significant aspects of the proposals announced today include:
  4. Firstly, improvements to counter-terrorism offences: The Government will make improvements to the counter-terrorism offences, including ensuring they cover psychological as well as physical harm, ensuring they apply clearly to threats of terrorism, recognising that international organisations (such as the United Nations) can be the target of terrorist violence, and creating a new offence covering terrorist related hoaxes committed without the use of the post or a telecommunications network.
  5. Secondly, a National Security Legislation Monitor: The Government will establish a National Security Legislation Monitor to review the practical operation of counter-terrorism legislation on an annual basis or as required in respect to a particular case or event.
  6. Thirdly, Parliamentary oversight of the Australian Federal Police: The Government will establish a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement to extend parliamentary oversight to include the Australian Federal Police. The Government will also establish a mechanism to enable the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which oversights security and intelligence agencies, to extend inquiries to include the Australian Federal Police with the agreement of the Attorney- General. This will occur where a security or intelligence issue can only satisfactorily be examined by going beyond the Australian Intelligence Community.
  7. Fourthly, an extended mandate for the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security: The Government will extend the mandate of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) to enable the IGIS, by direction of the Prime Minister, to extend inquiries to cover other agencies. Again, this will occur where a security or intelligence issue can only be adequately examined by looking beyond the Australian Intelligence Community.
  8. Fifthly, implementation of the Australian Law Reform Commission recommendations on sedition: The Government will honour its election commitment to implement the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission in July 2006 on federal sedition laws. These include changing the title of the offence from “sedition” to “urging violence”, clarifying and modernizing the elements of the offence, and repealing obsolete and never-used provisions enacted in the 1920s. It will also ensure there is an offence of urging violence against a group or individual on the basis of race, religion, nationality, national origin or political opinion. (This covers a situation that is not mere vilification but rather applies to the urging of actual violence.)
  9. The Government will prepare a discussion paper and exposure draft of the legislation for release in the first half of 2009. This will facilitate extensive consultation and feedback on the proposed changes.
  10. We will also be undertaking consultation with the States and Territories in the development of the proposals.
  11. The discussion paper and exposure draft legislation that will be circulated will also include proposals to refine the operation of counterterrorism laws in light of operational experience. Those amendments will largely clarify and simply the operation of existing laws.
  12. By and large these reforms provide clarification and in some cases additional safeguards to the exercise of quite significant law enforcement and investigatory powers.
  13. Essentially, however, the focus of these powers will remain on preventing a terrorist attack from occurring in the first place – not just waiting to punish those who would commit such heinous crimes until after they occur.

Conclusion

  1. In conclusion, the measures announced today by the Government are a comprehensive response both to bipartisan and independent reviews of our national security legislation over the past three years, as well as Mr Clarke’s recommendations.
  2. I am confident that the measures will result in greater community confidence that Australia has an appropriate and comprehensive whole-of-government approach to national security.

ENDS