Intelligence Services Amendment Enhanced parliamentary Oversight of Intelligence Agencies) Bill 2018

Liberty Victoria is essentially supportive of the reforms contained in the Bill. We note that there has been a significant expansion in the powers and activities of Australia’s national security and intelligence organisations over the past two decades, without a corresponding increase in review or scrutiny of such bodies. Accordingly, Liberty Victoria supports the expansion of the functions of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (‘PJCIS’) to include scrutiny of the activities of Australia’s national security and intelligence agencies. However, Liberty Victoria considers that there are two components of the proposed amendments that should be reconsidered to strengthen these important reforms.