Malcolm Turnbull has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the government's proposed data-retention policy following a "car crash" interview yesterday in which Attorney-General George Brandis failed to clarify what information would be recorded under the proposal.
Mr Turnbull was reportedly angry he didn’t know about the proposal before reading it in a media report ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Speaking on ABC’s AM radio program this morning, Mr Turnbull dodged a question about whether he had a "hissy fit" over the issue, as claimed in The Australian.
Malcolm Turnbull on ABC's AM program:
"I think the most important thing to talk about is firstly that data retention has been in the past and will be in the future a very important element in the fight against crime and protecting us against terrorism," he said.
"The security services, the police, ASIO are not asking the government to require telcos to record or retain information that they are not currently recording.
"One of the difficulties with a term like metadata is that it can mean different things to different people."
"There has been some concern expressed that the government was proposing that telcos should retain for two years a record of the websites that you visit when you're online…that is not the case."
He said what security agencies were requiring was telephone records and IP addresses – a number assigned to users' computers or phones by internet service providers when they go online – be kept for two years.
"That is information that is already being kept," he added.
But the minister would not be drawn when asked why there seemed to be confusion among government ministers over the policy, saying his message was “consistent with what the prime minister and the attorney-general has said.”
He said metadata meant "different things to different people," and he wanted to be "crystal clear" about what was being proposed.
He rejected the suggestion that the government had not clearly explained its policy.
"Well I'm part of this government and I think I'm explaining...I hope...with clarity and precision what the agencies are seeking."
"What they are seeking is simply that information which is currently recorded is kept for two years. It does not relate to the content of traffic, it doesn't relate to which websites you visit."
George Brandis struggles to explain metadata during TV interview:
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