15th Jun 2017, 12:16 PM – Senate Motions - Interference by Foreign Powers - Reference to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

The majority voted in favour of a motion that:

"calls on the Prime Minister to support a bipartisan reference to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) to inquire into and report on possible measures to address the risk posed by foreign governments and their agents seeking to improperly interfere in Australia's domestic political and electoral affairs"

This means the motion was successful.

Although motions like these have no legal force and so cannot force the Prime Minister to do as asked, they do show the will of the Senate and so can be influential.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes the:

(i) ongoing reports about foreign powers seeking to interfere in the domestic political and electoral affairs of Australia and other sovereign nations, including the revelations reported by the Four Corners program on 5 June 2017, and

(ii) highly concerning nature of any attempt by a foreign power to interfere in the domestic political and electoral affairs of sovereign nations such as Australia, especially where it involves direct or indirect interference in the electoral process;

(b) calls on the Prime Minister to support a bipartisan reference to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) to inquire into and report on possible measures to address the risk posed by foreign governments and their agents seeking to improperly interfere in Australia's domestic political and electoral affairs; and

(c) acknowledges:

(i) the current threat posed by foreign governments and their agents seeking to interfere in the domestic political and electoral affairs of sovereign nations, both in Australia and abroad,

(ii) the source of that threat, including direct interference by foreign governments, such as through foreign intelligence and security services, and indirect interference through proxies, such as lobbyists, business representatives and other agents,

(iii) existing measures to address foreign interference in domestic political and electoral affairs currently in place in comparable overseas jurisdictions, such as the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand,

(iv) existing measures currently in place under Australian law which may be adapted or expanded to defend against interference by foreign governments or their agents in Australia's domestic political and electoral affairs, and

(v) all direct and indirect influence by foreign intelligence agencies, including through traditional and social media, as well as cyber security attacks.