PRESS RELEASE: Australians for Better Government Calls for Caution on ASIO Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025
Security Must Not Come at the Expense of Australian Freedoms
WEDNESDAY, 29 April 2026
Australians for Better Government (ABG) urges the Senate to carefully scrutinise the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025 before expanding the scope of ASIO and make compulsory questioning powers permanent.
With a Senate vote expected before the end of April, the time for meaningful safeguards is now.
ABG representative, Debra Yuille said, “ABG recognises that ASIO plays a vital role in protecting Australians from serious threats. However, extraordinary coercive powers must require exceptional justification, rigorous independent oversight, and periodic democratic renewal”.
A key concern for ABG is that permanent ASIO powers risk an entrenched overreach. Speaking from Adelaide, ABG Vice-President, Mark Neugebauer said, “Compulsory questioning allows ASIO to compel individuals, often without charge or specific suspicion of a crime, to answer questions or face up to five years’ imprisonment. Making these powers permanent removes the regular parliamentary scrutiny that sunset clauses have enforced since their introduction post-9/11”.
ABG believes clear limits must be set with any expansion of ASIO’s scope. Mr. Neugebauer said, “Australians must have the right to express their views or object to the government without fear of secret compulsory processes. Clear, narrow definitions and judicial oversight are essential”.
ABG is also calling for strengthened safeguards and transparency, through ironclad, independent oversight. This echoes the serious concerns that the Law Council of Australia and other civil liberties and legal bodies continue to raise about the right to silence, limited access to lawyers, self-incrimination risks, and inadequate protections for those who may soon face charges.
Ms. Yuille also emphasised that need for the Australian people to have a say in any expanded ASIO powers. “Successive governments have expanded national security laws without adequately seeking a mandate from everyday Australians. Permanent powers that intrude on personal freedoms must undergo genuine public consultation, not just closed parliamentary processes.”
“ABG supports a strong, effective national security framework that protects our way of life, but we must never sacrifice our freedoms in the name of security,” Ms. Yuille added.
ABG is calling on Senators to strengthen a sunset mechanism with mandatory public and PJCIS review every three years; narrow and clearly define the expanded grounds for questioning warrants; enhance independent judicial safeguards before warrants are issued; and commit to genuine consultation with the Australian people on the balance between safety and liberty.
“Australians must never accept the permanent entrenchment of coercive powers that strip away the right to silence and the presumption of innocence. True national security protects our freedoms; it does not sacrifice them for a perceived promise of safety,” Ms. Yuille concluded.
ENDS
For Editors
Contact: Steven Tripp, ABG President, Email: steven.tripp@australiansforbetter.com,
Tel: +61 433 401 281, Website: https://www.australiansforbetter.com
Further comments and photos are available immediately, on request.
