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Home » News » Parliament: National Security Legislation passes

Parliament: National Security Legislation passes

15 November 2010: Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, welcomed the passage of The National Security Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 through the Parliament.

The legislation has been the subject of extensive public consultation and contains significant amendments, including:

extending the time available for police to re-enter a premises under a search warrant from one hour to 12 hours in emergency circumstances;
new powers for police to enter a premises without a warrant in emergency circumstances relating to a terrorism offence where there is material that may pose a risk to the health or safety of the public;
establishing a maximum seven day limit on the detention period that may be disregarded when a person has been arrested for a terrorism offence;
including a specific right of appeal for both the prosecution and the defendant against a bail decision relating to terrorism and serious national security offences;
expanding the ‘urging violence’ offence so that it applies to individuals as well as groups who incite violence on the basis of race, religion, nationality, national or ethnic origin or political opinion;
extending the expiration period of regulations proscribing a terrorist organisation from two to three years;
amending the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 so that national security and counter-terrorism court proceedings may be expedited;
establishing a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement to extend parliamentary oversight to both the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission; and
extending the role of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) to inquire into an intelligence or security matter relating to any Commonwealth Department or agency.
The Bill implements the recommendations of a number of independent and bipartisan reviews of Australia’s national security and counter-terrorism legislation dating back to 2006, including the:
Inquiry by the Hon John Clarke QC into the Case of Dr Mohamed Haneef (November 2008);
Review of Sedition Laws in Australia by the Australian Law Reform Commission (July 2006);
Review of Security and Counter-Terrorism Legislation by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) (December 2006); and
Inquiry into the proscription of ‘terrorist organisations’ under the Australian Criminal Code by the PJCIS (September 2007).