Register for MPs planned to curb foreign influence

MEMBERS of Parliament should be made to register their representations to foreign governments on a separate federal register to protect against foreign influence, a report has recommended.

Reviewing legislation to establish a foreign interest register, Parliament’s national security and intelligence committee has called for a parallel register for MPs, as one of 52 recommendations.

Committee chairman Andrew Hastie (pictured) told Parliament yesterday that decision-makers must be subject to visibility and transparency.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced a suite of legislation in December to curb foreign influence, including that people acting on behalf of a foreign power register.

The committee has recom- mended that cabinet ministers, ministers, MPs and former senior public servants carry additional obligations and for a longer period of time, and that obligations extend to senior staff working for ministers.

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus told Parliament the legislation in its original form is “riddled with problems” and could have potentially far reaching and negative consequences for civil society groups and democratic freedoms. He welcomed recommendations of appropriately targeted exemptions.