October 2, 2022
Joseph Lam
The Australian
Sunday 2 October 2022
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has warned that "everyone needs to watch out" for the proposed national anti-corruption commission, which will be given spy-like power to intercept encrypted messages from workers in the federal public sector.
Despite claiming he did not want the NACC to be a weapon of political payback, Mr Dreyfus said he believed the Morrison government's sport grant program "looked pretty corrupt to me".
"It's going to be a matter for this independent commissioner to decide", Mr Dreyfus told ABC's Insiders program.
Mr Dreyfus said all members of the commonwealth public sector would be subject to surveillance from the NACC, including encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp.
He said the NACC would need a search warrant before tapping phones and intercepting written communication.
"Interception is available, and the commission will have the same powers available to it, subject to warrant, that the police and our intelligence agency have and that's appropriate," Mr Dreyfus said.
"I think everyone needs to watch out. We don't want corrupt activity infecting our system of government."
Mr Dreyfus acknowledged the commission could gather sensitive national security information if it surveilled members of the Defence Force and spy agencies.
"It's potentially going to be dealing with national security information. That's not something, generally speaking, that state and territory anti-corruption commissions have to worry about," Mr Dreyfus said.
"This commission will have to, perhaps, worry about that and there are special provisions to deal with it."
Peter Dutton has signaled the Coalition will support the NACC but will push for amendments to the government's proposal.
Opposition cyber security spokesman James Paterson said the NACC could be in possession of "very sensitive and potentially classified information".
"That will make it a very attractive intelligence collection target for foreign intelligence services," Senator Paterson told Sky News.
"And if that's the case, they must put in place the most robust protection possible."
"Frankly, I would rather they don't hold any sensitive information like that at all."
Mr Dreyfus rejected claims from the Coalition that unionists would be exempt from NACC investigations.
"Union officials are not excluded. Any third party who was seeking to adversely affect public decision-making in a corrupt way is going to the subject of investigation by this commission," he said.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser pointed to a section of the legislation that appears to exempt union members from being investigated when they enter work sites.
"An individual (other than an official of a registered industrial organisation) who exercises power, or performs functions, conferred on the individual by or under a provision of a law of the commonwealth," the legislation says.
Mr Leeser said the provision would favour unionists over commonwealth regulated workers in disability and aged-care sectors.
"When union officials are exercising their functions to enter work sites under the Fair Work Act or exercising power as the safety regulator under that act or shutting down worksites under the Work Health and Safety Act, section 12 of the NACC act.
