Despite changes, terror law will still curb press freedom

The government last week published a report from Roger Gyles, the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, on the controversial Section 35P of the ASIO Act. Attorney-General George Brandis intends to introduce amendments to the act that incorporate Gyles’ recommendations. This will go some way to making it more difficult to prosecute journalists under Section 35P. But, […]

EFA welcomes proposed amendments to section 35P

EFA welcomes Tuesday’s announcement by the Attorney-General that the government has accepted and intends to implement all of the changes to section 35P of the ASIO Act that have been recommended by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. Section 35P of the ASIO Act was added in 2014 as part of the government’s first ‘tranche’ […]

Next tranche of new surveillance powers [Updated]

[Update: in a doorstop interview on 2nd July, Attorney-General Brandis said the following: ATTORNEY-GENERAL:  Legislation that I will be introducing into the Senate in the week after next will give effect to the recommendations, the 21 recommendations in Chapter-Four of the Joint Parliamentary Committee Report on Intelligence and Security.  That was, as I say, a […]

s313 Website Blocking – the Plot Thickens

Under intense questioning from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam at Senate Estimates hearings this week, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Environment has revealed that there are three agencies that have used section 313 of the Telecommunications Act to block websites. These agencies are ASIC, as publicised recently, the Australian Federal Police, who the […]