Beyond Terrorism: Enlarging the National Security Footprint Through The 'Telecommunications Interception and Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Act 2011' (Cth)

The 'Telecommunications Interception and Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Act 2011' (Cth) affects significant changes in intelligence functions, information sharing and co-operation amongst intelligence, law enforcement and other government agencies. The far reaching enabling nature of the legislation's changes in these areas, particularly in building upon, generalising and extrapolating from the model and experience of Commonwealth terrorism law reform from 2001 to other areas, is likely to accentuate and accelerate concentrations of Commonwealth executive authority and discretion with significant consequences for democratic governance. The circumstances regarding passage of the legislation failed to provide adequate scrutiny or modification of its far reaching provisions, but also signaled a renewal of expansionary national security legislative activity, following a hiatus with the defeat of the Howard government in 2007 with its recurrent terrorism legislation agenda. The legislation also indicates an expanded leadership role and functions for ASIO in performing activities on behalf of other intelligence, law enforcement and government agencies, confirming that premier and pivotal role in a broad array of national security functions.