Jo Haylen MP, Member for Summer Hill, led a shift on the party's policy at ALP National Conference over the weekend to review the Abbott Government's controversial metadata retention laws.
Ms Haylen and her left Labor faction successfully called for a review of Labor’s support for the policy. The laws passed with Labor’s support in March this year.
“The challenge for law-makers is to strike the right balance: balance between privacy and security, between transparency and strength, and between the power of government and the rights of citizens,” Ms Haylen said in her address to Conference.
“The Government’s data retention laws do not strike the right balance and neither does Labor’s support of these laws.”
“It’s been said that we’re facing the death of privacy; that privacy equals secrecy and danger, but those of us here today must remember that the right to privacy is not a natural right. It was hard won and like all rights, comes with responsibilities. The need to act as good citizens extends to our digital life, too. Those who do the wrong thing must be caught and punished,” Ms Haylen said.
“But the right to privacy is also a right the government has a duty to uphold,” Ms Haylen said.
“Labor is the ONLY party that can get this right.”
“We can strike the right kind of balance. We can protect Australians and also protect our rights as Australians, Ms Haylen said.