THE federal government needs to provide a clearer case for accessing people’s web browsing history, says Senator Stephen Conroy.
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Speaking in Wodonga yesterday, Senator Conroy said clearer information was needed on what would be proposed by the government.
The government announced new legislation last week which would require telecommunications companies to store the phone and email records of customers for two years.
Law enforcement agencies would be able to access two years of metadata without warrants.
“We’ll be seeking briefings from ASIO and from the federal police,” Senator Conroy said.
“We want to know exactly what the government is doing.
“They have made a real hash of explaining what it is that they want and need.
“Unfortunately, they haven’t really cleared up the extent of that yet.
“We want to see the legislation, we want to debate the legislation, and we want all the expert evidence to come in.”
Senator Conroy was on the Border for a lunch hosted by Labor candidate for Benambra Jennifer Podesta, which was attended by about 20 people.
He said he had been invited to the area by Cathy McGowan to talk about the mobile phone coverage and the National Broadband Network.
The shadow minister for defence said he was also keen to talk about defence issues, but he did not meet with any local army representatives.
A recent joint media release from Attorney-General George Brandis and Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull said metadata was vital to police investigations.
They said the government needed to “ensure that our law enforcement and security agencies have access to the tools they need to do their job”.