John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the annual report of committee activities for 2010-11. I seek leave of the Senate to move a motion in relation to the report.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

Due to the federal election held in 2010, this committee was not constituted until late 2010. The committee first met on 25 November 2010 and since that meeting has met for a further six times on the following occasions: meeting 2, 10 February 2011; meeting 3, 3 March 2011; meeting 4, 24 March 2011; meeting 5, a private hearing, 25 March 2011; meeting 6, a public hearing, 16 June 2011; and, meeting 7, 23 June 2011.

Schedule 8 of the Telecommunications Interception and Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Act 2011 amended subsection 28(2) of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 so that the committee is to consist of 11 members, five of whom must be senators and six of whom must be members of the House of Representatives. In addition, the quorum for the committee was changed from five to six members. Since the last annual report of the committee's activities tabled in June 2011 the committee has not tabled any further reports. The following reports are expected to be tabled in late 2011 or early 2012, the first of which is the Review of administration and expenditure No. 9 2009-2010. On 25 March 2011 the committee held a private hearing at which ASIO, ASIS, DSD, DIGO, ONA and DIO appeared before the committee; and on 16 June 2011 the committee held a public hearing, its first since July 2006, and heard from representatives of the Refugee Council of Australia, RISE—which is the Refugees, Survivors and Ex-detainees—the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and ASIO in relation to visa security assessments. The committee's report Review of the listing of Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the re-listing of six terrorist organisations was tabled on 22 August 2011 and will be reported on in the committee's annual report of committee activities for 2011-12.

On 17 June this year the committee visited ASIO, ASIS and ONA. The committee received highly classified briefings on aspects of these agencies' performance. On 24 March the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Dr Thom, briefed the committee on the role of IGIS and on the IGIS submission to the committee's administration and expenditure review No. 9. On 23 June this year members of the committee met with Mr Robert Cornall AO in relation to the 2011 independent review of the intelligence community. That review will examine the Australian intelligence community in accordance with a recommendation of the inquiry into Australian intelligence agencies, better known as the Flood inquiry of 2004. The primary focus of this review will be the work of the six AIC agencies—ASIO, ASIS, DIGO, DIO, DSD and ONA. The aim of the review is to address six key issues: how well the intelligence community is positioned to support Australia's national interests now and into the future; development of the intelligence community over the last decade, including the implementation of intelligence-related reforms; working arrangements and relationships between intelligence agencies and their international partners; working arrangements and relationships between the intelligence agencies and policy and operational areas of government; arrangements and practices within the intelligence community for collaborative work, including legislative arrangements; and the level of resourcing dedicated to the intelligence community and apportionment of resources across the community, noting that any future proposals would need to be offset consistent with the government's overall fiscal strategy. This review will prepare findings and recommendations on those issues and seek to provide a classified report to the government around midyear for its consideration as well as providing an accompanying, unclassified version of that report.

Madam Acting Deputy President Stephens, I hope you found this a most interesting exposition of the committee's work over the year. I commend the report to you and all senators for a close read and examination. If it would suit the Senate I am happy to seek leave to continue my remarks. It is often the practice at the conclusion of such contributions. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted.