Andrew Wallace
Fisher · Liberal National Party · Australia
“Based on that meeting, I worked pretty closely with the former shadow minister for communications David Coleman, and I was the chair of the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee when, with the member for Newcastle, we held an inquiry into protecting the age of innocence.”
“On 3 January 2018, Dolly Everett passed away at the age of 14. She was a young woman, a young lady, who had been bullied mercilessly. Sadly, she took her own life as a result of the bullying she encountered on social media. That happened not long into my parliamentary term in this place.”
“Later, in June 2024, the then opposition leader Peter Dutton pledged that a coalition government would implement a ban on social media for under-16s within 100 days of taking office. The Labor government did not introduce a bill to protect under-16s from social media until 12 months after we introduced our private member's bill.”
“It was the coalition that consistently led the charge on the protection of children. We actually set up the eSafety Commissioner—and what we now know, from the eSafety Commissioner herself, is that 70 per cent of children are still on social media as a result of this government's flawed legislation.”
“The continuity, the trust and the prevention that a good family GP, like my doctor in Maroochydore, provides cannot be replicated by a clipboard and a six-minute timer. That is where the human cost begins to accumulate. Bulk-billing has collapsed under this government, no matter what those opposite say or how they try and spin it.”
“For decades, Commonwealth governments, including coalition governments, have used health incentive payments to support quality care, to encourage digital health adoption, to sustain general practice in aged-care settings and to keep doctors working in rural and remote communities, where the economics of medicine are hard and the distances…”
The complete record
Every one of 667 lines we hold for Andrew Wallace, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 14.
“Members including Sue Gregory, Andy Ovenden, Ellen Whinnett, Dave Richardson, Tim Bowles, Dave Cockroft, Matthew Cleverly and Stu Voigt rotated through CPR, administered oxygen and delivered defibrillation while managing crowd control. Other members included Jett Kenny, Trent Winstanley, Shane Peterson and Ross Hutton from the Dicky Beach Surf Club, who assisted with operations and beach management. Unfortunately, despite sustained and coordinated resuscitation efforts by these volunteers and by paramedics, the patient, sadly, could not be revived. Our ambulance and police services both praised the professionalism and teamwork shown by the surf lifesavers involved. These men and women are volunteers. They run and swim towards danger when others run away.”
“Only a few weeks ago, another tragic incident occurred on the Sunshine Coast that highlighted both the power of the ocean and the extraordinary courage of our surf lifesaving volunteers. In the early hours of Saturday 31 January, in Alexandra Headland, members of the Alex Surf Club were arriving to set up for a carnival. At around 5 am, members of the public alerted them to a person in distress in the water north of the clubhouse. Although there was no patrol underway, club members immediately sprang into action. Nino Dukic and Justin Cash launched the IRB into challenging surf conditions and headed more than 150 metres offshore to reach the patient. Once the patient was aboard, CPR began immediately, as they navigated back through the break to the beach. Onshore, a coordinated response unfolded.”
“I speak about this not only as the federal member for Fisher but as someone who has served in surf lifesaving for 18 years. Conditions can change in minutes. Even strong swimmers and experienced surfers can get into trouble. That's why the red and yellow flags matter so much. My thoughts are with Joe's family, his friends and the entire surf lifesaving community. Joe loved the ocean. He served his community, and he'll never be forgotten.”
“Last week the Sunshine Coast surf lifesaving community lost one of its own, 18-year-old Metropolitan Caloundra Surf Life Saving Club member, Joe Tolano. Joe disappeared in the surf at Buddina beach while in the water with friends before a training session on Wednesday 4 March. What followed was an enormous search effort involving police divers, rescue helicopters, jet skis, coastguard vessels and surf lifesavers from across the region. Tragically, Joe's body was found two days later. He was a passionate young surf lifesaver and a clubbie who had grown up through the Nippers program and was chasing his dream of becoming an ironman. For the Sunshine Coast surf lifesaving community, this loss has been deeply personal. Joe was one of our own.”
“I call on the government to refer this bill to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, and I call on the government in the strongest possible terms to come back to this House with a bill that is worthy of the obligation it claims to create. Australians deserve nothing less. It doesn't matter whether you live in the bush or you live in the cities. Australians deserve to be in a modern day world—in the 21st century. They deserve to be able to pick up one of these phones that is their lifeline to the world and expect that it is going to work—not only if the weather's fine and if they hold up their hand and left foot, but always and at all times, because their lives sometimes depend on it. (Time expired)”
“These are the minimum requirements of sound public policy; they should not be sacrificed for a political headline. The people of Fisher have waited long enough for reliable mobile coverage. They've waited while technology evolved and commercial incentives pointed elsewhere. They've waited while city commuters checked emails on the trains while families in the hinterland couldn't call a doctor, an ambulance or even a friend. I want this bill to succeed, but wanting is not governing. Connectivity is not a luxury; it is a lifeline. The people of regional Australia deserve more than an ambitious headline. They deserve a framework that actually works for them. I support the reasoned amendment moved by the member for Lindsay.”
“A Senate inquiry through the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee would allow farmers, small businesses, local governments, emergency services, telecommunications engineers and consumer advocates to put on the public record what they need from this legislation and what, in its current form, it fails to deliver. We need submissions from regional communities about what connectivity means to them in practice. We need evidence from technical experts about the realistic deployment timeline for direct-to-device satellite services. We need clarity about handset compatibility, about the interaction between the UOMO and existing emergency call frameworks, and about the enforceability of an obligation couched in the vague language of 'reasonableness' and 'equity'.”
“This government cut these programs, botched the 3G shutdown, left 50,000 Australians with phones that could not call triple zero, and now asks us to trust it with legislation built on technology that does not yet exist. At some point, incompetence has consequences. In this portfolio those consequences are measured in lives. The coalition is not calling for this bill to be defeated; we're calling for it to be done properly. I am tired, after 10 years of being in this place, of rushed, panicked bills with minimal consultation and inadequate technical expertise. This approach is hurting Australians. This is the approach that the Albanese government has taken over the last four years.”
“And to this day, I'm still advocating for better mobile phone reception in rapid growth areas like Banya and Nirimba. Carl from Banya can only get one bar of service. He has to drive to the Stockland Sales Centre to make or receive calls. Adam and Michelle in Landers Shoot tell me that, since 3G cessation, their phone connection frequently drops out; text messages can't be sent. This has serious impacts on my constituents—constituents like Carl from Eudlo. The Albanese government cut the Mobile Black Spot Program in the 2024-25 budget. It's cutting the better regional connectivity programs from 2027, and in the most recent round of mobile service upgrades, 75 per cent of funded projects were delivered in Labor electorates. Three in four upgrades went to Labor held seats.”
“The entire purpose of extending coverage to those areas is, at least in part, to enable them to call for help in an emergency, yet the bill does not say so explicitly. It does not guarantee it. It does not mandate it. That is not good enough. An obligation that is meant to save lives should say so in those terms. Let me speak plainly about the political context of this bill, because context matters. The previous coalition government committed $811.8 million to connect regional Australia through the Mobile Black Spot Program, the STAND program and the Regional Connectivity Program. We helped build towers. We provided an infrastructure. We provided funding. We delivered services to communities that had been waiting for connectivity for decades—communities like those in my electorate of Fisher.”
“The government argues that triple zero obligations are already covered by the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019 and that voice services under the UOMO will be captured by that determination. With respect, that is a circular argument that fails the basic test of legislative integrity. The UOMO is a new framework. It will apply to new technologies, including direct-to-device satellite services, whose interaction with existing emergency call determinations has not been tested, has not been adjudicated and may give rise to technical and legal ambiguity at precisely the moment when ambiguity is most dangerous. Many of my constituents have long been unable to call triple zero from outside their homes.”
“ACMA and the telcos sent text messages to people whose phones could not make emergency calls. The UOMO is designed to be delivered, in significant part, through direct-to-device satellite technology. That technology requires handsets that support it. The vast majority of devices currently available in Australia, including many recently purchased high-quality devices, do not support direct-to-device connectivity. The bill contains no obligation to address this compatibility gap, no consumer education and no handset transition program—not even an acknowledgement of the problem. How can we legislate a universal outdoor mobile obligation when the obligation cannot be accessed by the majority of devices currently in use? Perhaps the most extraordinary omission in this bill is its complete silence on emergency communications.”
“But there is a profound difference between supporting technological innovation and legislating a consumer entitlement contingent on that innovation proceeding on schedule, at scale and on commercially viable terms. This bill guarantees none of these things. The people of Glass House Mountains and Peachester deserve more than a 'maybe'—more than a 'probable'. In November last year, TPG Telecom reported that a person had died after triple-zero calls failed. The cause was handset incompatibility. Samsung devices were rendered incompatible with emergency call networks, following the government's closure of the 3G network. Around 50,000 Australians believed their phones would work in an emergency. For at least one of them, that misplaced trust was fatal. The government's response was, by any measure, inadequate.”
“It notes that SMS services are available in some countries on certain handsets, but that voice services are 'expected to follow'—not guaranteed; not scheduled; not contracted; 'expected'. The bill legislates a framework for a technology that does not yet exist at commercial scale in Australia. It sets a commencement date for services that, as of today, are not available on most handsets in Australia, are not fully covered by our spectrum licensing framework and depend on wholesale satellite infrastructure, over which Australian carriers exercise no direct control. I support the deployment of low earth orbit satellite technology. I've backed greater use of satellite solutions for years.”
“And, although the obligation is meant to commence on 1 December 2027, the minister can delay it up to three times, for a 12-month period each time, potentially pushing the start date out to December 2030. What does 'reasonably available' mean for a farmer in Conondale who can't get help when a piece of machinery falls on him? What does 'an equitable basis' mean for a parent in Glass House who can't reach an ambulance when his or her child is choking? This bill, as drafted, provides them with no meaningful reassurance whatsoever. The government's own explanatory memorandum concedes that direct-to-device satellite technology is still evolving, with the required infrastructure still being deployed.”
“What we cannot support is a bill that makes big promises, yet relies on technology that does not currently exist—and still leaves consumers with no real protections. The centrepiece of this legislation is the obligation it places on mobile network operators. But what precisely is that obligation? The bill says that mobile coverage must be 'reasonably available' outdoors to all Australians on 'an equitable basis'. Those two phrases, 'reasonably available' and 'an equitable basis', do almost no work in this legislation. They are, in effect, escape hatches. The bill explicitly allows the minister to exempt providers by legislative instrument. This means the minister can split the obligation, treating voice calls differently from SMS.”
“Let me acknowledge what this bill is trying to do, because at least the ambition deserves recognition. The universal outdoor mobile obligation—the UOMO—would, for the first time, extend Australia's universal service framework to mobile telecommunications. It would place a legal obligation on Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom to ensure that baseline mobile coverage, voice calls and SMS are reasonably available outdoors to all Australians on an equitable basis. That is a worthy goal. The principle that every Australian, regardless of postcode, should be able to make a phone call or send a text message from outside is not a radical proposition. It is, frankly, a minimum standard of civilised life in the 21st century. The coalition doesn't oppose this principle.”
“Since becoming the federal member for Fisher, I have personally secured mobile phone services for communities across Fisher in Conondale, Glasshouse Mountains, Peachester, Beerburrum, Beerwah, Glenview, Caloundra South and Caloundra West. I've met with network planners. I've sat with developers. I've negotiated with councils and telcos. I've argued the case community by community, tower by tower, for my constituents to be brought into the modern age. So, when a bill arrives in this place that promises universal outdoor mobile connectivity to all Australians, including to the people of Fisher, I want to believe in it. I really do. But wanting is not enough, and belief absent evidence is not policy; it's aspiration dressed up as legislation.”
“I rise to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 and I do so as someone who has spent years in this place fighting for my constituents to have access to something that Australians in our major cities take entirely for granted: a reliable mobile phone service. My wife and I raised our daughters in the Fisher hinterland, in the valleys and ranges that stretch from Beerburrum through to Cambroon, from Glasshouse Mountains to Conondale. These are close-knit communities of farmers, small-business owners and young families who have chosen to live in our beautiful rural region. For far too long, they've been connected to the rest of Australia by a telecommunications thread.”
“What this means is that around 50 businesses on the Sunshine Coast, on the wharves, can't go to sea; they can't fish; they can't catch our protein; and they can't export it, obviously. What that means is that they may have to lay off staff. And Australian businesses are going to suffer and all Australians are going to suffer as a result. This government needs to get its act together. It talks the big talk, but, when push comes to shove, it can't organise a chook raffle.”
“Last week, we heard the Minister for Climate Change and Energy stand up in this place in question time and extol the virtues of the government's liquid fuel supplies. We heard him say, in fact, that there were 34 days of diesel supply. We all heard him say that, didn't we? We remember hearing him say that. Well, let me tell you, Madam Deputy Speaker Claydon, that I received a phone call yesterday from Heidi and Pavo Walker from Walker Seafoods, who have one of the largest fishing fleets on the eastern seaboard of Australia. They told me that they had zero fuel, zero diesel, on Mooloolaba wharves—zero, zip, nada. Not a scrap of diesel could be got for them, or for De Brett or Rockcliff—three of our large fishing companies in the seat of Fisher.”
“From the beaches of the Sunshine Coast to the fields of the Somme, Fisher will be represented with dignity and pride by a great Australian who I admire so much. Congratulations, PK. Lest we forget.”
“He served on multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor, as well as humanitarian missions across the globe. Today he continues to serve as president of Young Veterans Sunshine Coast, as wellbeing officer at the Beerwah RSL, as a contributor to the veterans royal commission process and as founder of the Veterans Wellbeing Foundation on the Sunshine Coast, creating practical spaces where veterans can connect, support one another and rebuild. As a father of four and a tireless advocate for those who have worn our nation's uniform, there is no better person to represent this country or the Sunshine Coast than Peter Kennedy. At 5.30 in the morning, in the cold dawn air at Villers-Bretonneux, PK will lay a wreath on behalf of our nation.”
“Above the entrance to the local school are words that read 'N'oublions jamais l'Australie'—or 'never forget Australia'. To this day, French schoolchildren sing our national anthem in gratitude for the Australians who saved their town. That is the legacy of their service. That is the bond forged in battle. This year, I'm incredibly proud that one of our own from Fisher, my good friend Peter Kennedy, has been selected as one of seven—out of 800 applicants through a Department of Veterans Affairs process—to represent Australia at the 2026 Anzac Day service at Villers-Bretonneux. Peter—or PK, as he's known—is a retired warrant officer with more than 32 years service in the Royal Australian Air Force. PK was a C-130 loadmaster.”
“Each Anzac Day, we pause to remember those who served, those who sacrificed and those who never came home, but there's one place—half a world away, in northern France—where Australia's story is written into the soil: Villers-Bretonneux. In April 1918, as part of the German spring offensive, the town was captured by German forces. At dawn on 24 April the enemy advanced. The situation was desperate. It was Australian troops, the 13th and 15th brigades, who led the counterattack. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Australian imperial forces encircled the town, and by 25 April—the third anniversary of Gallipoli—they'd reclaimed it. Around 46,000 Australians were killed on the Western Front. More than 18,000 have no known grave. Many of their names are etched into the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.”
“They ask, 'How do we budget, how do we plan, and how do we reassure an 85-year-old client when we don't even know what next month looks like, especially in a cost-of-living crisis—not just for households, but for businesses and not-for-profits?' The government keeps saying older Australians will be no worse off, but RangeCare are telling me their clients are being left in the dark. They're seeing people hesitate on essential supports because of rising out-of-pocket costs. They're seeing assessment delays stretching towards 12 months. Reform without readiness is risk. Good policy, badly implemented, still harms people. Slow it down, fix the systems and clarify the pricing.”
“I recently met with RangeCare in Maleny, a not-for-profit that's been caring for older Australians since 1986, when it began as the Montville Care Group. This year they turn 40. They support around 1,800 Sunshine Coast locals. They employ 260 staff and engage more than 300 contractors. They support reform in caring for older Australians, and they agree change is needed. But here's what they told me: the concept may be right, but the rollout from this government is all wrong. Providers are being forced to build the plane while it's rolling down the runway. Key rules are unsettled. Systems are not functioning smoothly. Pricing is unclear.”
“As you get older, as many tradespeople do—well, we all do—it's tough. It's tough on the body as you get older, but there are career paths for you as you mature—like the Deputy Speaker, who's very mature.”
“We have an incredible skill shortage in this country, and it has been driven predominantly by years and years and years of neglect. That's why I want to encourage mums and dads and young people to think about a trade, because a trade will take you anywhere. If you go on and work for yourself after your four-year apprenticeship, you have the opportunity to earn very good money. Yes, apprenticeships are tough. I know; I remember my apprenticeship. It was a tough four years, but I like to think that it made me the person that I am today. Having a trade in today's world gives you the ability to run your own business, it gives you the ability to have a greater degree of freedom, and it gives you a terrific ability to earn good money—sometimes very good money. If you are in the building industry, you can go on and become a builder, as I did.”
“I particularly want to encourage mums and dads who are sitting around the kitchen table talking to their young sons or daughters about what they might want to do when they finish school. I want you to encourage your young kids to think about a trade, because things have changed a lot since I did my apprenticeship as a carpenter and joiner back in the eighties. Back then, we tradespeople—well, back then, it was essentially tradesmen, I have to say—drove utes and vans, and lawyers drove Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs. Now, it's the opposite. Tradies drive BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes, and the legal profession tend to drive lower quality vehicles, because the tides have turned. You think about how hard it is for you to get an electrician or a plumber or a chippie. You think about the trade.”
“I rise to speak on this very important motion as one of the few tradesmen, or tradespeople, that work in this building—along with my good friend Senator Colbeck, who's a fellow carpenter. I do want to make a few comments about this motion because it is very important. I had the privilege of doing my carpentry apprenticeship shortly after I finished school. Trades are incredibly important because an Australian trade can take you anywhere in the world. I want to send a big shout-out to anybody who may be listening to this or reading this at a later stage about the importance of trade qualifications, because so much emphasis over the last 20 or 30 years has been on sending young people to university. Now, I've done both; whilst going to university, for some, is important, getting a trade is an incredibly valuable, life-changing experience.”
“It commenced. And it is being delivered. It is important that the historical record reflects that commitment accurately. The memorial belongs to the Australian people—especially to those who served and, importantly, their families. Lest we forget.”
“I want to specifically acknowledge the leadership of the current director, Matt Anderson, and the leadership of the former director, Brendan Nelson, in their work guiding this complex redevelopment and safeguarding the memorial's mission throughout this process. The professionalism of the memorial's leadership and staff has ensured that even during construction, the institution has continued to operate at the highest possible standard. The Australian War Memorial must remain above politics. Its council was established as an independent statutory authority. Its role is to preserve history, not reinterpret it through the lens of the government of the day. Remembrance must unite Australians, not divide them. This redevelopment was a clear commitment by the former coalition government to honour contemporary service. It was funded.”
“That's why the coalition, when we were in government, committed more than $500 million to the redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial. Early works commenced in 2020, with completion scheduled for 2028. The purpose was straightforward: to provide additional exhibition space to properly tell the stories of contemporary service in a timely and appropriate manner. This was about ensuring that veterans of Afghanistan, those who served in Iraq, those who've deployed on peacekeeping missions or those who've provided disaster relief at home and abroad see their service acknowledged within the national narrative.”
“The Roll of Honour commemorates more than 103,000 Australians, one of whom was my great uncle Murray Davies, men and women, like him, who have died in service under our nation's flag. The Last Post Ceremony that is conducted every evening at the War Memorial has been conducted more than 4,000 times since 2013. Those figures are not just impressive; they reflect the central place the memorial holds in our Australian story. The character of Australian service has evolved. Since the Second World War, more than 100,000 Australians have served in modern conflicts and operations, including Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and in numerous peacekeeping missions and humanitarian missions. Their service deserves to be recognised with the same dignity and space as those who served in the First and Second World Wars.”
“That mission traces all the way back to Charles Bean, Australia's official war correspondent in the First World War. Bean did not want a monument to victory. He wanted a place that honoured the ordinary Australian—the digger, the nurse, the airman, the sailor—and he wanted it to record their stories faithfully. His concept of a shrine, a museum and an archive was uniquely Australian. More than a century later, that founding vision still guides this incredible institution, and the scale of the memorial's impact is extraordinary. It attracts around a million visitors each year, even during what is a huge redevelopment. More than 100,000 Australian students participate in its education programs annually. Its national collection contains over 40 million items.”
“The Australian War Memorial stands as one of our nation's most sacred institutions. It's not simply a museum; it is a place of remembrance, reflection and national identity. Every Australian schoolchild who walks through its doors learns what service and sacrifice truly means. We owe it to those who served to ensure their stories are told properly, completely and without political distortion. The War Memorial combines a shrine, a world-class museum and an extensive archive. Its purpose is clear: to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war or on operational service and those who have served our nation in times of conflict. Its mission is leading remembrance and understanding of Australia's wartime experience.”
“All ISIS brides travelled to the same declared area to support this brutal group. That is, in and of itself, a criminal offence. How can only one person be deemed to be worthy of a TEO? The minister has a very broad discretion, yet he has failed to act. If the government is serious about preventing their return, then why isn't it using the TEO regime to do so? Australians are rightly concerned about the return of the ISIS brides and deserve more decisive action from their government.”
“The Albanese Labor government continues to obfuscate on the return of the so-called ISIS brides. It claims the ISIS brides are not welcome yet fails to use existing tools under the temporary exclusion order regime to prevent their return. Section 10 of the Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Exclusion Orders) Act empowers the minister to issue a TEO if satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that it would substantially assist in preventing terrorism related activities, or if ASIO assesses the person as a direct or indirect risk to politically motivated violence. Islamic State is a brutal terrorist regime responsible for unspeakable crimes against humanity. The ISIS brides' involvement with and support of Islamic State clearly makes them a potential threat, even if they haven't been directly engaged in terrorism.”
“I want to use my last few moments to, as I often do in this place, acknowledge the efforts of our ADF personnel. We often acknowledge the 103,000 men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for protecting this country, but we rarely, in my view, acknowledge the efforts of our intelligence agencies and their people that are stationed in the four corners of this world whose job it is to keep Australians safe. They don't wear a uniform, they certainly don't wear a flag on their left shoulder, they're not armed and, yet, they work to keep us safe. All those men and women often work in what are incredibly dangerous situations for their own personal safety. They do that for you and me and the other 27 million Australians. We should acknowledge the risks that they take every day, and we should thank them for their service.”
“For all those who may argue that our intelligence agencies have too much power, I want to remind them of one thing. Just think about Bondi. Just think about the 15 people who were killed. The threat environment in which we live is extremely dynamic and, as Mike Burgess, the ASIO director-general, has rightly pointed out, ASIO and our other intelligence agencies are not all-seeing and they are not all-knowing, nor do we want to be in that environment. We do not want to live in a police state where our freedoms are taken away from us in the name of national security. We have to get the balance right between keeping Australians safe and ensuring that we have the appropriate liberties that 103,000 Australians have died for over the last 126 years.”
“This includes updates to control order regimes, surveillance capabilities and other preventive powers. These commonsense measures would complement the intelligence tools provided in this bill and help ensure Australia's counterterrorism laws remain effective in a heightened and evolving threat environment. This bill is a step in the right direction, but much more must be done to properly equip our intelligence and security agencies to navigate the complex threat environment we face today. I've had the privilege of serving in this place as the deputy chair of the intelligence and security committee that oversees ASIO and our intelligence agencies. I have seen how the sausage is made. It's really important that we retain that parliamentary oversight of our intelligence agencies.”
“Given the increasingly complex and volatile threat landscape facing Australia in 2025, it is crucial that ASIO retains the legal authority to compel information from individuals who may hold intelligence of national security importance, especially where those individuals would otherwise refuse to provide it. While this bill is essential, it should not be the end of the conversation when it comes to equipping our intelligence agencies to navigate our current threat environment. More needs to be done to prevent emerging threats in the current security environment post Bondi, particularly threats emanating from radical Islamist extremism. Following the Bondi attack, the coalition's antisemitism, extremism and counterterrorism taskforce called for a broader package of reforms to modernise Australia's counterterrorism framework.”
“Oversight bodies, including the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security—the independent statutory watchdog for intelligence agencies—have consistently found that the powers are exercised judiciously and as a measure of last resort. Their limited use reflects the deliberately high statutory threshold governing their application, not overreach or misuse. Some critics argue that legislation of this kind risks compelling innocent people to undergo questioning, but intelligence agencies are not investigating completed crimes; they are seeking to prevent serious harm to Australians. That necessarily involves compelling information from individuals who may not themselves be suspects but who may possess intelligence critical to disrupting imminent threats.”
“The bill also strengthens oversight, reporting and administrative safeguards. It tightens eligibility and termination provisions for prescribed authorities to reinforce their independence and impartiality. A prescribed authority is an independent legal official, typically a former Superior Court judge or senior legal practitioner, who supervises and controls questioning to ensure it is conducted within strict legal bounds. The bill enhances reporting obligations to the Attorney-General and requires that any questioning occurring after a person has been charged must take place before a retired judge, providing an additional level of independent oversight. Public reporting indicates that ASIO'S compulsory questioning powers have been used very, very sparingly, with only around 20 warrants issued over more than two decades.”
“These attacks that were perpetrated by Iran-linked antisemitic groups, which were just criminal gangs, demonstrate how foreign interference can manifest not merely as covert espionage but as direct efforts to inflame communal tensions and undermine social cohesion. In such cases, waiting until conduct escalates into a narrowly defined terrorism or espionage offence may leave intelligence agencies without effective tools at the point that they are most needed. The expanded definition also supports earlier intelligence collection and disruption in complex threat scenarios. It enables ASIO to intervene where there is credible intelligence of serious harm while preserving existing warrant thresholds, ministerial approval requirements and independent oversight mechanisms.”
“The expansion of the definition of an 'adult questioning matter' that is dealt with by this bill is significant because it reflects our current complex threat environment and recognises that contemporary security threats can be interconnected and do not always fall neatly within what we once considered traditional categories. For example, foreign actors and extremist networks often exploit domestic grievances. We know this to be the case. We have seen Iran up to their armpits in Australian domestic affairs, such that Iran was directly involved in acts of terrorism on Australian soil which led, quite rightly, to this government expelling the Iranian ambassador and two or three other diplomatic staff.”
“Although Australia is a relatively small country by population and, therefore, its ability to be able to walk and chew gum—or to be able to afford to do so—our intelligence agencies have to be able to be equipped to be dealing with not only the threat that we are facing from, quite frankly, countries like China and Russia from an espionage perspective but also the threats that we face from within from extreme Islamic fundamentalists that we have seen result in the deaths of people in Bondi. We cannot be myopic in how we deal with the security of this country. We have to be able to walk and chew gum.”
“The bill amends the definition of an 'adult questioning matter' to include sabotage, the promotion of communal violence, attacks on Australia's defence systems, and serious threats to Australia's territorial and border integrity. We live in the most geopolitically unstable period since 1945. Foreign interference and espionage rate as some of our greatest national security challenges.”
“What was initially considered an exceptional post 9/11 measure has, regrettably, become an enduring feature of Australia's national security landscape. Not only has the threat endured but it has also continued to evolve. The bill formalises what has already been the de facto position for years. It provides legal certainty to ASIO and allows parliament to focus scrutiny on governance and safeguards rather than repeatedly revisiting the power's existence. Importantly, the bill also expands the scope of adult questioning warrants, which are the warrants that allow ASIO to compel questioning of adults in relation to serious national security threats. Currently, such warrants may be sought in relation to: espionage; politically motivated violence, including terrorism; and acts of foreign interference.”