Senator BRANDIS (Queensland—Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Vice-President of the Executive Council, Minister for Arts and Attorney-General) (14:22): Thank you very much indeed, Senator Johnston. I acknowledge your work, particularly in the early to middle part of last year as a member of the National Security Committee of cabinet in crafting the government's response to the threat to Australia from terrorism, of which this forms part. The PJCIS released its report into the data retention bill on Friday. It makes 39 recommendations, the most important of which of course is that the bill be passed. Significantly, the report was bipartisan. Its concluding comments— Senator Kim Carr: Do you pull the wings off butterflies as well? I bet you do! Senator BRANDIS: Senator Carr, I thought you might take this issue seriously, but apparently you are incapable of treating threats to the security of the Australian people seriously. The PRESIDENT: To the chair! Senator BRANDIS: The report was bipartisan, notwithstanding the bleatings we hear from Senator Carr. In its concluding comments the committee states that it considered carefully the rationale for a mandatory data retention scheme and that, in the words of the committee: … such a regime is justified as a necessary, effective and proportionate response. The committee endorsed key elements of the scheme, including supporting the proposed two-year retention period on the basis that it was necessary and proportionate for a range of investigations into particularly serious types of criminal and security related activity. The committee's recommendations are largely focused on two areas. First of all, ensuring that the data set and the agencies which can access the data are specified in the primary legislation rather than in the regulations, and in increasing the oversight mechanisms and privacy protections in the bill. The government has announced that it will support all of the committee's recommendations, and I take this opportunity to thank the chair of the committee, Dan Tehan, and the deputy chair, Anthony Byrne, for their work in achieving a bipartisan agreement on this important measure.