Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Bill 2026

Mr THISTLETHWAITE (Kingsford Smith—Assistant Minister for Immigration and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) (16:37): Australia has strong foreign interference and espionage laws that capture researchers, and our security agencies actively monitor and respond to threats to the national interest. If an Australian researcher passes sensitive information to a foreign power, that is espionage and it is already a crime under Australian law.

Our government has been consistently clear that universities must play their role in managing risks, including through the University Foreign Interference Taskforce. In the parliament, the shadow minister has recognised this, and he said: 'The Foreign Arrangements Scheme is not the only protection against foreign interference or inappropriate foreign involvement in Australian research, nor should it be.

There are other safeguards.' We agree, and I note that the shadow minister is a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which concluded that the government's amendments strike the right balance between maintaining Commonwealth visibility and oversight of foreign arrangements that may affect Australia's national interest whilst cutting unnecessary regulatory burden for lower risk activities.

There was a reason for the Huxtable review commissioned by the Albanese government and why they did not recommend the coalition's approach, and that's why the government will not be supporting this amendment.