Metadata vital in the war on terror, says Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin

THE nation’s top cop says data for foiling terrorist attacks was disappearing every day and would be lost without mandatory data retention laws.

Student's finger on trackpad of computer.

THE nation’s top cop has warned that vital digital data for foiling terrorist attacks and investigating serious crime was disappearing every day and would soon be permanently lost without mandatory data retention laws.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said policing in Australia would return to the dark ages without laws to force telcos to continue keeping the phone and internet data of its customers.

He said the community had little to fear from the proposed new laws, which he claimed gave police and intelligence agencies no more powers than they already had.

METADATA RETENTION LAWS TO PASS WITH LABOR SUPPORT

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin and Prime Minister Tony Abbott / Picture: Nicole Garmston

The Abbott government is becoming increasingly frustrated with the delay in passing the bill.

The opposition has said it would support the laws but had issue with aspects of the legislation, including an absence of protection for journalists being targeted for their sources. But Commissioner Colvin said the new laws would not change the status quo in terms of investigative powers.

“The AFP supports the freedom of the press and is not seeking any reforms which would diminish this,” he said.

ASIO, the AFP and NSW Police have warned that without the data, police would be crippled in their efforts to prevent terrorist acts and investigate serious crimes.

While many of the major companies already keep such data for even longer periods for accounting purposes, new billing methods have meant that they are increasingly likely to dump the mass storage of such data.

“The current bill isn’t giving us any extra powers. In fact, it includes additional protections on top of what has been in place up until now,” Commissioner Colvin said. “For every day the bill is delayed metadata is disappearing. Without the passage of the bill, law enforcement will be left behind.”