Review urges major changes to Australia’s ‘oppressive’ national security secrecy laws

Independent monitor makes 40 recommendations to rules that allowed the ‘shameful’ secret imprisonment of a government official

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A landmark review into “oppressive and unnecessary” national security secrecy laws that allowed a government official to be secretly imprisoned in a Canberra jail has recommended major changes to prevent the “shameful tale” happening again.

Grant Donaldson, the outgoing independent national security legislation monitor, released his review on Thursday evening, offering 40 recommendations he hopes will “demystify” the little-understood rules.

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