Surveillance Devices Bill
01/07/2014
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I take the floor to put on the record a few comments on behalf of Dignity for Disability on this issue, and indeed from a personal level as well as a proud member of the Adamantine Animal Activists Association of Australia. I do hope that when my past English teachers thumb through the Hansard to read this, as I know they will, they enjoy that shining piece of alliteration.
A number of the very grave concerns that I hold have already been placed on the record by other members, so I will not repeat them and my make comments quite brief. When this parliament last considered the bill in this place I raised a number of those concerns, and I am glad to see that some of them have been addressed since the bill has returned to us. Having said that, I of course continue to be concerned, as a number of my colleagues certainly appear to be, by the bill’s provisions regarding the publication of information gained through the use of surveillance devices.
Mr President, read together with the very broad definition of different classes of surveillance devices, Dignity for Disability finds it concerning that the passage of this bill in its current form would place an enormous burden upon individuals, small business owners, NGOs, the news media and the courts. I understand that there are a number of proposals to amend the bill being contemplated by members who share my concerns, and I will consider those amendments very seriously as they become available.
Dignity for Disability is of course highly supportive of the drive to achieve national harmonisation in this area in order to enhance cross-border efforts to combat serious and organised crime; however, we are unable to accept as a part of that process changes that we believe will have so serious an impact on civil liberties, press freedom and political communication. As other members have pointed out, there are many times when the use of such devices would be considered by the vast majority of the public to be completely legitimate and in the public interest.
In summary, I have grave concerns regarding the bill in its present form, but I will continue to support amendments to address the publication issues and the passage of an amended bill.
