‘Don’t let MPs duck foreign agents law’

A push is on for MPs to be covered by rules preventing them acting on behalf of foreign interests.

Former ASIO chief Duncan Lewis. Picture: Kym Smith

A push is on for MPs to be covered by rules preventing them acting on behalf of foreign interests, with a Senate committee warning that the ­nation’s Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme isn’t functioning as intended.

The Senate’s powerful privil­eges committee said senators and MPs were “not immune to foreign interference” and should be ­required to declare to the parliament if they were acting “on behalf of a foreign principal”.

The bipartisan committee said the Register of Senators’ Interests could be used to make such declarations, which would make giving false statements a contempt of parliament. But it said the House of Representatives would have to take similar action to ensure all parliamentarians were covered.

“There can be no doubt parliamentarians should be transparent and accountable where they act on behalf of a foreign power,” the committee said.

The recommendation follows a political storm over Chinese-born Liberal MP Gladys Liu’s membership of three organisations linked to the Chinese Communist Party, and warnings by former ASIO chief Duncan Lewis that the ­nation faced an “unprecedented” foreign interference threat.

There are also concerns fewer than 200 disclosures have been made on the scheme’s public register, while Attorney-General Christian Porter said there had been a “lack of common sense” in its administration to date.

Scott Morrison warned on Monday that foreign interference was an “evolving threat”, ­announcing a new $87.8m taskforce to identify, disrupt and prosecute those perpetrating it.

MPs and senators, and their staff, are exempt from making declarations under the scheme, which applies to lobbyists and others seeking to influence political and governmental outcomes on behalf of a “foreign principal”.

The scheme applies to former parliamentarians but former senator Nick Xenophon, who has taken a job as a lawyer and advocate for Chinese telco Huawei, will not have to make a declaration on the public register because the company is not considered a foreign principal under the legislation.

In its report, the Senate’s privileges committee said the scheme’s first year of operation demonstrated it “has perhaps not functioned as intended”.

It acknowledged parliament’s joint intelligence and security committee had recommended a parallel foreign influence scheme for MPs and senators but said it did not support a legislative solution.

The committee said the Senate should not proceed unless the House of Representatives took similar action.

The committee warned such a parliamentary scheme would still not cover parliamentary staff, or state and territory MPs.

It also raised the prospect those who made a declaration under a parliamentary foreign influence scheme risked falling foul of Section 44 of the Constitution, which disqualifies candidates under ­“allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power”.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said he was determined to ensure the scheme had the personnel, leadership and connections to security agencies to ensure its ­effectiveness: “The scheme ­already includes a review within three years, which is appropriate.”