Spy agency reach is out of control

Greens communications policy spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam said today that the overreach of covert surveillance agencies had hit a tipping point, with revelations that Indonesian leaders had been directly targeted.

"Are we seriously meant to believe that the President of Indonesia, his wife and his leadership team are a national security threat to Australia?"

"Australian intelligence gathering has been absorbed into the US national security state, which is widely accepted in the US to be out of control and in urgent need of reining in."

"The Greens believe there must be an immediate inquiry into surveillance overreach and the damage it is doing to diplomacy, business confidence and personal privacy protections. Last week the Government and Labor party voted down a resolution to this effect; the Greens intend to give them another opportunity soon.

"The Government cannot continue to pretend this isn't happening."

The Greens proposals for winding back surveillance overreach http://greens.org.au/surveillance

The Greens motion for an inquiry into the implications of NSA surveillance for Australian privacy http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/motions/australia-needs-inq...