Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025

Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory—Independent ACT Whip) (11:56): I rise to reaffirm my opposition to this terrible bill. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025 is a deeply flawed bill. I set out my reasons when the bill was last considered by the Senate in May, and nothing since has changed other than the fact that I and, I'm sure, most of my colleagues in here have received a lot of calls and emails from people that they are here to represent, raising concerns about the overreach in this bill and raising concerns about the government, without enough justification, having extraordinary powers over Australian citizens.

I'd like to take some of the time I have left in my second reading speech to read out excerpts from some of the correspondence I've received from Canberrans. A concerned Canberran who lives in MacGregor told me, 'I object to the frightening level of overreach sought in the name of security with this bill.' A Canberran in Wanniassa said, 'Australia is not and has not and should not be violating our rights by stripping them away without oversight or access to representation if detained per due process.' A concerned Canberran in Gungahlin said, 'I do not believe powers this grotesque and dangerous should be available to any organisation within a democracy.' The views of Canberrans seem aligned with the Law Council, the Australian Human Rights Commission and so many experts and advocates raising alarm at this bill.

This bill, in its current form, does not have a place in our democracy. Today, I'll be voting on behalf of Canberrans and experts against this bill. Just today, I was at a press conference where Amnesty International and the Human Rights Law Centre and other organisations tabled a petition of over 50,000 Australians calling for a human rights act in this country.

I thank the member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, for his tireless work on a human rights act. He has introduced three bills that would establish a human rights act in this country. His latest attempt was modelled on the government's own work in the House committee that recommended a human rights act two years ago; that was unanimously backed by the parliament.

In those two years, we've seen no moves from the government. It's when you see bills like the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025 come through that you realise why the Albanese government thinks a human rights act is a great thing in opposition but not so great in government—because it'd be very hard to ram this sort of legislation through via guillotine and not have Australians not only take exception but assert their rights in law.

I think this is a time where we should be saying it is time for a human rights act in this country. It's one thing having egalitarian ideals and wanting people to be judged on their character rather than on the colour of their skin, their age or their gender—but that's not in the law in this country. A human rights act would do that.

I commend all those Australians who've been pushing for a human rights act, and I say to the government: you have 94 seats in the other place and you have a Senate crossbench urging you to get to work on a human rights act. Now is the time.