The Australian Pirate Party has delivered a scathing attack on the Federal Government’s planned changes to data retention laws after the Federal Government rejected a Freedom of Information request regarding the legislation.

 

The Party also applauded Shadow Telecommunications Minister Malcolm Turnbull after he expressed his “very grave misgivings” about the proposed changes to data retention contained within the National Security Inquiry’s discussion paper. Mr Turnbull also said he believed the right to destroy correspondence and personal records should be maintained, regardless of medium.

 

The Pirate Party’s Deputy Secretary, Mozart Olbrycht-Palmer, welcomed the calls by Mr Turnbull.

 

“It is fantastic that finally someone is considering these proposals from a cautious perspective,” said Mr Olbrycht-Palmer.

 

“The implications are simply not being given the attention they deserve, either from the Attorney-General, from whose department these proposals originated, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, nor from police commissioners or intelligence organisations.”

 

The comments by Mr Turnbull come after Greens Communications Spokesman, Senator Scott Ludlum, slammed the Federal Government and Opposition over the refusal to make the planned changes public.

 

"With two orders for the production of documents the Greens sought to make public legal, technical, and political advice received by the Government and any other relevant information pertaining to the proposed data retention scheme. It was a perfectly reasonable request made in the interest of open and honest public debate - and the Labor Party and Coalition united to keep this information secret,” Mr Ludlum said.

 

"Today's vote is a travesty. While the Government believes in the total exposure of private citizens' correspondence - which is what data retention would mean - it colludes with the Opposition to keep its own plans concealed."