While as a nation we the Australian people understand the need to protect and stop acts of violence against ourselves, we also prize our privacy, and our ability to hold our government accountable for its actions. 

This new legislations extends the reach of the government into our private lives far beyond the provisions of even the Patriot Act for the American NSA and also stifles the abiity of the press to make public the actions of our government which prevents we the people from holding the government accountable for its actions.

The following are the key areas of concern:

1) ASIO will soon have the power to monitor a terrorist network with just one warrant (which is issued by the Director General of ASIO or assistant). There is no definition of a network in the bill and there is no limit on how many devices can be included in the network to be monitored. The entire internet is a network of networks meaning the entirety of the internet could be monitored with a single warrant (not just meta data, but content as well) ASIO will also be able to copy, delete, or modify the data held on any of the computers it has a warrant to monitor.

2) Anyone who "recklessly" discloses information relating to a special intelligence operation will face up to 10 years' jail. Any operation can be declared "special" by an authorised ASIO officer. This prevents whistleblowers and our press from making public any actions which we the people may not condone or support. However, the requirement to not identify ASIO operatives is a valid one, but preventing disclosure of ASIO activities that we the people may not agree with means the Government is no longer acting in the best interests of its citizens

The current legislation enabled our law enforcement to proactively stop a random barely planned terror act. We the people therefore believe the current legislation is fit for purpose and balances our freedom and privacy with the ability of our law enforcement agencies to protect us.

Finally, while our government may be currently acting in our best interests, there may come a time when a government is voted in with a large majority that may not have our best interests at heart and can actively use this power and information to suppress those who voice dissent.

This petition calls for the House of Representatives to either vote against the legislation or limit the breadth of the legislation to limit the information collected to a number of devices, and to remove the legislation suppressing whistleblowing activities