PART A :Questions

1.What are the advantages and disadvantages of federalism compared to a unitary system of government? What are some recent examples of policy problems or crises, which required Australia's state and federal governments to cooperate?

2.What is a liberal-democratic state? To what extent does Australia uphold the values of liberalism and democracy, and in which areas does it need to improve?

PART B: Encryption Laws

In December 2018, the federal Parliament enacted legislation that allows Australia's police and intelligence agencies to require technical assistance from 'designated communications providers'. The title of this legislation is the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (Cth).

These laws are commonly called the 'encryption laws' in the media, as they are designed to force multinational tech companies like Apple, Google and Facebook to decrypt secret communications and unlock personal devices. It is a known problem that terrorist organisations use encrypted messaging services - like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal - to conceal their activities and plan violent attacks. Even a simple iPhone passcode can thwart an agency's efforts if they cannot unlock a suspect's device.

Before and after the laws were enacted, inquiries into the Bill were undertaken by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS). These inquiries have attracted a large number of submissions from technology companies, law reform organisations and human rights bodies. The encryption debate remains controversial, as it pits the need to protect national security against the rights of everyone to keep their conversations private. The laws also pose wider risks to cyber-security if companies are required to introduce vulnerabilities into their products.

The questions below direct you to understand the encryption laws, the process of enacting them, and their impact on individual rights and cyber-security. The questions total 30 marks, but please check the weighting to gauge how many words you should allocate to each.

Questions

1.When did the Bill pass the House of Representatives and the Senate? When did it receive royal assent? (2 marks)

2.What existing legislation did the encryption laws amend, and where in that legislation can the powers be found? (3 marks)

3.What are the major features of Australia's encryption laws, as enacted? (5 marks)

4.What reasons did members of the federal government give for introducing the encryption laws? Why did they see the laws as necessary? (5 marks)

5.Who are the members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, and what did they recommend in their April 2019 report on the encryption laws? (5 marks)

6.What concerns did different companies and organisations raise in their submissions to the PJCIS inquiry? How valid are these concerns, and how urgently should the federal government address them? (10 marks)