THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) today presented its review of amendments made by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (TOLA Act).

The TOLA Act amended a range of Commonwealth legislation to introduce measures to better deal with the challenges posed by ubiquitous encryption.

The committee considered the ongoing appropriateness, effectiveness and necessity of the powers conferred by the TOLA Act 2018 and made 29 recommendations to the government to amend the legislation.

The committee has recommended the powers be retained with additional safeguards and oversight mechanisms to provide the public with confidence the legislation continues to be used proportionally and for its intended purpose.

Chair of the committee, Senator James Paterson, said, “Agencies have made the case that these powers remain necessary to combat serious national security threats, and some of the worst fears held by industry at the time of passage have not been realised.

“However, these are intrusive powers that must be robustly overseen to ensure they are used appropriately, and there are improvements that can be made to the oversight framework which the committee has recommended,” Senator Paterson said.

Further information on the inquiry as well as a copy of the report can be obtained from the inquiry website.

ends

THE Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia wrote to the WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Stephen Dawson MLC, on December 10, 2021 expressing the committee’s concerns about the WA Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill then being considered by the WA Parliament.

The letter was copied to the Commonwealth Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt AM MP.

The letter, co-signed by the chair of the committee, Warren Entsch MP, and Senator Pat Dodson, a member of the committee, outlined the committee’s disappointment with key provisions of the Bill and its failure to take account of recommendations of the committee’s final report into the destruction of the Aboriginal cultural heritage at Juukan Gorge.

Committee Chair Warren Entsch said the Bill "falls far short of the reforms advocated in the Committee’s final report on Juukan Gorge, in particular the call for consistency with the principles of free, prior and informed consent by Indigenous people”.

He said the Bill “conflicts with these principles by giving the Minister the ultimate power to decide whether mining or other activities can go ahead if traditional owners do not agree to an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) Management Plan put forward by a proponent company”.

Mr Entsch has also criticised the consultation process undertaken by the McGowan Government on the Bill, which he said “was not centred on culturally based protocols, was not undertaken in language and was not linked to elements of Aboriginal culture”.

The letters are available on the Committee’s website:

Additional Documents – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)

ends

THE Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth has released its report on the Prudential Regulation of Investment in Australia’s Export Industries, which examined how Australia’s prudential regulation framework interacts with operations of the country’s biggest export industries.

The Committee Chair, George Christensen MP, said while a healthy financial system is underpinned by strong regulatory settings, it is important for law-abiding export sectors to have adequate access to funding and insurance, as they make significant contributions to Australia’s economy.

"The Report makes 13 recommendations, all addressing the challenges heard during the inquiry. In particular, we emphasise that Australia’s regulators should work with affected sectors in issuing clear advice about risks. Some of the recommendations also deal with the influence of small shareholder groups in financial institutions," Mr Christensen said.

Other recommendations made by the committee outline a role for the Australian Government in mitigating these challenges, including:

• Recognising that finance, banking and insurance services are essential services for businesses;
• Taking steps to ensure that banks must, at a minimum, provide transactional banking services to all law-abiding businesses;
• Directing banks to prepare a regulatory impact statement (or similar) that outlines the real impacts of a policy setting; and
• Working with the resources sector to create a self-funding insurance model that meets the needs of resource companies, contractors, suppliers and associated export infrastructure.

The full report can be found on the Committee’s webpage.

ends

THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has recommended the Federal Government move to ratify the agreement with the United States and United Kingdom for the Exchange of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information (ENNPI).

Committee Chair Dave Sharma MP said, "This agreement will help determine the optimal pathway for acquiring nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy, one of the most important strategic military capabilities for Australia in the decades ahead.

“The agreement will allow for the exchange of sensitive and classified naval nuclear propulsion information with a third country for the first time, and provide a mechanism for Australian personnel to access training and education from UK and US counterparts, essential for learning how to safely build, operate and support nuclear-powered submarines.

“With our security environment growing more challenging in the decades ahead, a regionally superior submarine capability is critical to safeguard Australia’s security," Mr Sharma said. “This agreement will help facilitate this capability.

"The proposed agreement will not affect Australia’s strong commitment to nuclear non-proliferation," Mr Sharma said.

The Report can be found on the Committee website, along with further information on the inquiry.

ends