BILL DRAFTING – AUSTRALIA

Clerks in warning on spy laws

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Mar-18

Senate clerk Richard Pye and House of Representatives clerk David Elder have warned of the potential impact of proposed foreign interference and espionage laws on parliamentarians. They have used submissions to a joint committee on intelligence and security inquiry to express concern that the legislation could potentially override parliamentary privilege by requiring MPs to disclose details of any meetings they have held with foreign officials. The bill has previously attracted criticism from media companies and business groups.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

New Senate push to kill union merger

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Mar-18

The Federal Government hopes to secure the support of Senate crossbenchers for legislation to block a merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. The Nick Xenophon Team has signalled that it is open to negotiations regarding amendments to the Ensuring Integrity Bill, while the Liberal Democratic Party’s David Leyonhjelm say he is holding talks with the Government. The CFMEU-MUA merger will proceed on 27 March unless the bill is amended.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Journos reject spy risk claim for flawed law

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 26 & 28 : 19-Mar-18

Former Al Jazeera foreign correspondent Peter Greste has expressed concern about the potential impact of the Federal Government’s proposed espionage and foreign interference laws on freedom of speech. Media companies have also raised concerns about the limitations of the proposed laws in a new submission to federal parliament’s intelligence committee, while Law Council of Australia president Morry Bailes says the defence that reporting on an issue is in the public interest should be widened.

CORPORATES
AL JAZEERA, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

Media call for spy laws rewrite

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Mar-18

Media companies and the Law Council of Australia have raised further concerns about the Federal Government’s foreign interference laws in new submissions to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence & Security. The media industry argues that the bill is "deeply flawed" and it should be completely redrafted. The Law Council in turn has argued that the definition of some key terms in the draft bill need to be clarified, including "national security" and "news media".

CORPORATES
LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, SKY NEWS, THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CENTRE LIMITED

New spy laws still not good enough: Dreyfus

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-Mar-18

Media companies have warned that journalists could still be jailed under draft amendments to the Federal Government’s proposed espionage laws. The amendments would provide limited legal protection for journalists who receive and report on classified information. The media industry’s joint submission argues that journalists would still be required to defend their actions in court. The Opposition’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus says the amendments are flawed and will not be supported by Labor.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS HOLDINGS LIMITED

Softened spy laws sent for scrutiny

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Mar-18

The Federal Government has amended proposed foreign interference laws in response to the media industry’s concern about the impact on freedom of the press. Although journalists will not be exempt from the laws, they will only face criminal prosecution for reporting on classified documents if their actions pose a threat to public safety or national security, or affect an ongoing criminal investigation. The amendments will be scrutinised by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

PM switches to plan B on tax reform

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 9-Feb-18

The Senate is set to reject the Federal Government’s corporate tax cuts package after One Nation and the Nick Xenophon Team advised that they will vote against it. The two minor parties have a combined six seats in the Senate, and just three cross-benchers currently support the tax reforms. The lower house passed the company tax cuts bill on 8 February, and Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Government remains committed to getting the tax cuts through the Senate. However, the package’s looming defeat in the upper house will allow the Government to focus on personal income tax cuts in the May 2018 Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Labor backs changes to protect journalists

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 2 : 9-Feb-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to provide greater protection for journalists in its proposed espionage laws. Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that journalists will not face prosecution for publishing classified information if they had believed that doing so was in the public interest. The media industry had expressed concern that journalists could face criminal prosecution for receiving classified information.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Spy laws: New A-G concedes ground

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Original article by Simon Benson, Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 8-Feb-18

The Federal Government has responded to the media industry’s concerns about its proposed foreign interference laws by agreeing to some safeguards for journalists. Attorney-General Christian Porter has advised that journalists who receive classified information will only face criminal prosecution under certain circumstances, such as if reporting on the information could potentially affect public safety or pose a threat to national security. However, commonwealth officers who leak confidential information will not receive any such exemption.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, ASHURST AUSTRALIA

New spy laws to hinder legitimate work of media

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Original article by Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 6-Feb-18

Attorney-General Christian Porter has conceded that some changes to proposed foreign interference laws may be needed to alleviate the concerns of the media industry. Robert Todd of law firm Ashurst has warned that the laws as presently drafted could potentially make a wide range of persons criminally liable for dealing with confidential information. He says the proposed laws provide very limited protection for journalists, while there would be almost no protection for other people, including social media users.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, ASHURST AUSTRALIA, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS