George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Australians can have a very high level of confidence in the oversight mechanisms that govern the national security agencies. Those oversight mechanisms of course begin with parliament itself through its committees. I have already mentioned the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which operates in a bipartisan fashion. There is also the relevant committee of this Senate that oversees the intelligence agencies. There is a statutory officer, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, whose remit is to oversee the operation of the intelligence agencies. There is a strict mechanism of accountability to the executive government and in particular to the Attorney-General. As honourable Senators may be aware, the government recently announced, when the Prime Minister and I made a statement on the 5 August, that we had decided to retain the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor to ensure that further legislative reforms were proportionate.