SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 30 SEPT - (AUSTRALIA) LABOR 'PICKS BATTLES' IN BACKING NEW SPY LAWS

Labor's decision to wave through new laws that grant unprecedented powers to Australia's spy agencies is driven by the party's desire to "pick battles" on national security, and not appear overly obstructionist, sources said. The government's first tranche of national security reforms enable ASIO to access an unlimited number of computers with a warrant and carry penalties of 10 years jail for anyone who discloses details of ASIO "special intelligence operations". The bill passed the Senate last week with the support of the Coalition, Labor and the Palmer United Party and is expected to go to the lower house on Wednesday where it will easily pass. Lawyers, academics, human rights commissioner Tim Wilson and media organisations have warned the new laws will restrict legitimate reporting on security issues. Labor sources said the party would likely have supported stronger protections for journalists if the powerful Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which is dominated by Coalition members, had recommended them. The committee made only 17 relatively minor recommendations for change. Labor has decided it must "pick its battles" on national security and does not want to be seen as obstructionist on the the politically-sensitive issue, sources said. The party is prepared to demand changes to the second set of new laws, which will allow the government to declare certain countries "no go zones". Speaking in August shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus described the new penalties for journalists and whistleblowers who disclose confidential information as "an unprecedented overreach of government power which poses a real threat to the freedom of the press". A spokeswoman for Mr Dreyfus said Labor was originally concerned that journalists could be jailed for accidental disclosures but that the laws now only covered "reckless" or intentional disclosures. "We believe changes balance the need to protect the safety of ASIO employees engaged in [special intelligence operations], while ensuring that journalists are not in danger of being penalised for simply doing their jobs," the spokeswoman said. The bipartisan approach to national security appeared to break down on Monday when Labor reacted angrily to accusations by Foreign Minister Julia Bishop that they had underfunded Australia's security agencies when in office. "Regrettably, we didn't have the focus [on national security] in the last few years that we should have," Ms Bishop said at a press conference. "That's why the Australian government has announced $630 million in additional funding to ensure that our intelligence agencies and others have the capability and capacity to deal with a heightened terrorist risk." Mr Dreyfus said the comments were a "cheap political shot" and criticised Tony Abbott for declining ASIO briefings when he was Opposition Leader. Labor increased ASIO's budget by 10 per cent in its last budget, he said. Greens Deputy Leader Adam Bandt said he will introduce amendments to limit to 20 the number devices ASIO can access with a single warrant. The Greens were prepared to negotiate on the number, he said. Mr Bandt's amendments would also remove criminalisation of whistleblowers for releasing information on special intelligence operations and remove criminalisation of journalists reporting on them. "As the bill stands, the government can access your computer or mobile and even add files to it, despite the fact you're not a suspect. If your computer is on the same network as a suspect's, whether that's at work, university or even the entire internet, the government will be able to access it," he said. Spy agencies and the government have argued they need the new powers as at present a new warrant needs to be filled out for each device that agencies want to gain access to. If a person has multiple devices - at work and home - this can become an onerous task. Mr Bandt said he was concerned the government's new laws would restrict reporting of operations similar to the alleged bugging of East Timor's cabinet room by Australia's foreign spy arm, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. LINK: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/consumer-security/labor-picks-battles-in-backing-new-spy-laws-20140929-10no60.html