ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND: Minister Andrews; distinguished guests; good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Department of Justice today, and it is my honour to join Minister Andrews in the signing of the agreement between the United States and Australia today.
Keeping the American people safe is one of the Justice Department’s most important responsibilities. Our ability to fulfil that obligation depends upon our cooperation with trusted partners, both here at home, and around the world. As President Biden has said, ‘America has no closer or more reliable ally then Australia’. That is certainly true when it comes to law enforcement.
For more than a century, America and Australia have worked together to keep our citizens safe in the face of a wide range of complex and evolving threats. We have worked together to disrupt terrorist plots, to dismantle drug trafficking organisations, to deter violent crime and to combat cybercrime. In all of our work, we have worked together to keep our countries safe and in that work, we are guided by our shared belief that we must do so in a way that honours the rule of law and protects the civil liberties of our citizens.
Today America and Australia are taking another important step in signing this agreement which reflects our shared commitment to civil liberties and will deepen our law enforcement cooperation. The agreement is authorised by an important law that Congress passed in 2018: the CLOUD Act. The agreement allows the United States to enter into bilateral agreements with rights respecting international partners. These agreements facilitate timely access to electronic evidence and investigations of serious crime. The CLOUD Act Agreement between the United States and Australia will make our cooperation to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute serious crimes more effective and in doing so, this agreement will help keep our citizens safer. At the same time, this agreement protects civil liberties, safe guards the privacy of our citizens and will ensure our own adherence to the rule of law.
In closing, let me thank again everyone who has gathered here for all that you have done to make this possible. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the negotiating teams in both our countries for your many hours of hard work, over the many years. Without your work, we would not be here today. This agreement is a testament to the robust and collaborative partnership between America and Australia and I am confident that it will help ensure our partnership grows even stronger in the years ahead. Thank you very much.
KAREN ANDREWS: Thank you Attorney General Garland. It’s an absolute pleasure to be here in Washington D.C. to mark this historic agreement.
The United States and Australia have today entered into a landmark new law enforcement partnership to stamp out serious organised criminality, terrorism, child sexual abuse and other crime. Signing the CLOUD Act Agreement will enable our two nations’ law enforcement agencies to share important digital information and data with each other, under carefully defined legal authorities and safe guards.
It will ensure they have timely access to electronic data, to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute serious crime – including child sexual abuse, ransomware attacks, terrorism and the sabotage of critical infrastructure over the internet.
This agreement will enhance law enforcement cooperation, but will also protect the values, principals, sovereignty and long-term economic prosperity of Australia and the United States. As we saw in Operation Ironside – known in the United States as Operation Trojan Shield – the Australian Federal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are already capable of smashing serious organised crime networks using sophisticated digital techniques. This agreement brings that partnership to new heights.
Until now, Australian agencies have relied on complex and time-consuming mechanisms such as mutual legal assistance agreements to access crucial evidence from other countries. Investigations and prosecutions have stalled and even derailed as a result of these arrangements. By strengthening both nations’ ability to fight crime and giving our law enforcement agencies more efficient access to evidence, we’re ensuring the safety, security, and prosperity of our citizens.
As is right and proper, important safeguards in the agreement reflect our two countries respect for the rule of law and for human rights. Australia’s prosperity and security and the prosperity and security of the United States, depend on our ability to securely harness the opportunities created by digital technologies and connectivity. That’s why we must continue to work with each other and with other like-minded liberal democratic nations to support industry, national security and law enforcement agencies and citizens.
Later today and tomorrow, I will meet with other senior officials and law enforcement partners to discuss and deepen our collaboration. Particularly on cyber security and protecting critical infrastructure, countering terrorism and preventing serious and organised crime. I commend the United States for leading the global fight against cyber-crime and look forward to additional cooperation. Thank you, Attorney General.
ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND: Thank you all very much for coming here, especially the teams: without you we would not be here and we are very grateful for your help.
Thank you.