Attorney-General George Brandis has an annual meeting set up with business leaders on issues of national security, under the name of ICONS (Industry Consultation on National Security). Essentially it’s to talk about espionage, trusted insiders, organised crime and terrorism — all the fun things. But it also includes a deregulation component, where the government asks what it can do to cut red tape.

Media was banned from the most recent event, in March 2016, but Brandis’ speaking notes (recently released through freedom of information) indicate the Attorney-General spoke about reducing red tape:

“The Turnbull Government is committed to eliminating any unnecessary regulatory burden on business, and cutting red tape. What is your organisation’s experience with national security regulation.”

The very next line indicates the government was prepared to face backlash to its data retention scheme, a year after the legislation passed:

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A speech AGD secretary Chris Moraitis gave regarding foreign investment in critical infrastructure makes for amusing reading after the government’s decision to block the sale of Ausgrid to Chinese companies, and how the decision was dropped on the New South Wales government:

“Early and ongoing engagement with state and territory governments, however, will continue to be important to ensure potential risks are effectively managed through the relevant state based legislation and leases.

“For example, this type of arrangement was implemented in the recent privatisation of the NSW electricity transmission network. Commonwealth agencies worked with NSW officials to develop a suite of conditions and undertakings to address national interest considerations, which formed part of the lease licence conditions, before the process was finalised.”