Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm believes the nation's first law officer may be more obedient to police than their sniffer dogs.
Senator Leyonhjelm is concerned Attorney-General George Brandis is bowing to the wishes of law enforcement and security agencies over data retention laws being debated by parliament's upper house.
Legislation supported by Labor forces telecommunications companies to keep two years of customer metadata so that it can be accessed by authorities.
"The suggestion has been made that the attorney-general is more obedient to the AFP (Australian Federal Police) than some of their sniffer dogs," Senator Leyonhjelm told reporters in Canberra.
The Liberal Democrat, Greens and independent Nick Xenophon all oppose the new measures.
Each is proposing amendments to the draft laws.
The Greens want to force agencies to obtain warrants to access most metadata and reduce the time frame for data storage from two years to three months.
Senator Xenophon wants tougher protections for journalists and their sources, claiming the new laws could dissuade whistleblowers.
All are concerned that adding more data to that already available won't do anything to prevent terrorism.
Adding more hay to the haystack would not help find the needle, they say.
The AFP has admitted the new regime would not have prevented Man Haron Monis, who was already known to authorities, from carrying out the Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney.
Senator Brandis argues the new laws don't legislate any new powers, but the crossbench isn't buying it.
Senator Leyonhjelm believes there's nothing stopping government agencies accessing data for any purpose, not just crime and terrorism.
"The end result is the bill will cover all sorts of silly things," he said, adding that could include tracking down people whose dogs foul the pavement.
A Senate vote on the proposed new laws may take place later on Wednesday.
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