Feds want driver photos

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants Tasmania to hand over photos of every licensed driver in the state in a bid to beef-up the country’s facial-recognition system.

At a special national security summit today in Canberra, Mr Turnbull will ask state and territory leaders to provide the photos, which will be added to passport and immigration information already accessed by federal law-enforcement authorities to help keep Australians safe.

State Police Minister Rene Hidding said the Government took privacy concerns very seriously.

“Relevant Federal Government law-enforcement agencies will be given access under limited and strictly controlled circumstances to Tasmania’s database to help fight serious crime, such as terrorism,” he said.

“The new arrangement will also assist Tasmania Police to fight serious crime here in Tasmania, and help keep Tasmanians safe.”

Mr Turnbull acknowledged there was a risk such big, complex data could be compromised but said steps would be taken to protect it.

“You can’t allow the risk of hacking to prevent you from doing everything you can to keep Australians safe,” he said.

Mr Turnbull will push for new federal laws to allow terrorism suspects to be held without charge for up to two weeks.

Greens justice spokesman Nick McKim said the moves were an attack on fundamental rights and liberties.

“The massive expansion of police and detention powers being proposed by the Prime Minister is yet another erosion of Australians’ basic freedoms,” Senator McKim said.

“Detention without charge is completely unjustified and incompatible with the rule of law and basic freedoms.

“The wider use of facialrecognition software will affect every Australian’s privacy.”

State Labor leader Rebecca White said Mr Hodgman should demand the return of 16 Australian Federal Police officers to the Hobart airport.

“The point of the meeting is to discuss security for all Australian states, and the state and Commonwealth governments need to make security issues a priority for Tasmania as well as the other states,” she said.

Labor leader Bill Shorten has pledged $13 million to reinstate AFP officers to the airport if elected at the next Federal Election.