Foreign interference laws set to pass parliament

The Senate is today expected to pass laws cracking down on foreign interference in Australian politics.

Police seen outside Parliament House Canberra.

Police seen outside Parliament House Canberra. Source: AAP

The federal government's draft laws cracking down on foreign interference are expected to pass parliament today with support from Labor.

Under the new laws, foreign political donations will be banned and a new lobbyist register will be created listing people who work behalf of a foreign government, as well as greater offences for espionage conduct.

The bill has the support of the Labor party, following a parliamentary review which sought changes to the laws including an exemption for charities and religious groups from registering in the lobbyist list.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a former intelligence officer, is among the sole voices in parliament who has raised concerns about the bill, saying the laws could diminish civil rights.

He also questioned why the laws needed to pass before the "Super Saturday" by-elections.

"No government has any right to misuse national security in the lead-up to by-elections or an election," Mr Wilkie told parliament recently.

"No government has the right to take us down the road to being a police state. I regret to say that there's more than a whiff of all of those concerns in [this bill]."


Share
2 min read

Published

By Rashida Yosufzai, James Elton-Pym


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world