Shirley Ken: Telecommunications (Interception Capability) Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Shirley Ken: Telecommunications (Interception Capability) Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:616;Page:12284] 
Hon KEN SHIRLEY (Deputy Leader—ACT) 
: 
 There have been a number of contributions in this debate and in many senses it seems as if it is the whole of the Committee versus the Green Party and in particular Mr Locke. But in many respects I would like to support Mr Locke and express gratitude that he is making the points he is. They are very important points and although the ACT party supports this legislation let us not fool ourselves—these are draconian measures that impinge on civil liberties and freedoms. That is the view that Mr Locke is putting to the Committee and to that extent he is right. Where I believe he is wrong is in this issue—that in the current world in which we live and given the security risks we face there is a price regrettable as it may be that we have to pay as a society to ensure our freedom and security. It would seem and the evidence is abundant that without these measures we would have our freedoms and securities stripped from us. 
There is an incredibly bitter irony in that situation. It is not a comfortable situation; it is one that as a Parliament we should monitor closely to make sure that safety measures and backups are in place to ensure that those measures at all times are exercised and used only in an extremely appropriate manner. Where they are not we should be doubly vigilant to make sure that the authorities if they do abuse the measures are brought to account. There is in principle real concern with the measures but undoubtedly they are necessary and required. 
In talking of security and freedoms the irony is that the very nations Mr Locke seems to be defending are those that reject the Western values and ideals we enjoy and cherish. We only have to look at the Taliban in Afghanistan at Mugabe in Zimbabwe at any of the corrupt tribal dictatorships of Africa or at the fundamentalist Muslim States to ask what freedoms and securities they enjoy and compare the overarching freedoms and securities we enjoy in Western-type societies relative to other societies that generate such a threat. 
Yes under this bill any telecommunications network has to enable its systems to be monitored. It has to provide encryption codes and the like and it is common knowledge that most telecommunications traffic is monitored. Things like key words Echelon programs and other such things are realities in the modern world but on the other side what are the examples of the abuse of those things? I would put it to members that there are very few indeed. 
 We actually enjoy incredible freedoms that the technology gives us but the price we must pay in the world we live in with the terrorist threats we face is that the very tools that we use in our daily lives and which contribute to our freedom and enjoyment of life can be used against us by terrorists and the like. These measures are necessary to curb curtail and eliminate those illegal activities and threats. It is that balance that the ACT party has wrestled with and on balance we come down in support of this legislation. 
The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 197 in the name of the Hon Rick Barker to Part 1 be agreed to.