The Australian Greens have condemned an Abbott/Shorten unity ticket that has passed data retention laws through federal parliament this afternoon.

“The ALP has caved in to Tony Abbott's self-interested fear campaign and supported a bill that entrenches a form of passive mass surveillance over 23 million Australians," Senator Scott Ludlam, Australian Greens communications spokesperson said following the vote. 

“The ALP will be judged for that, and we will ensure that people never forget who made this possible.

The Australian Greens have announced a broad suite of amendments to the data retention regime being legislated by Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten.

"Our amendments address major privacy and security protections that are being stripped away by the Abbott/Shorten surveillance unity ticket," Senator Scott Ludlam, Greens communications spokesperson said.

"Authorities should need a warrant to access bulk metadata and that entire process should have proper, independent oversight. That's what the Greens will move in the Senate today.

Debate on the bill for two year mandatory data retention has started, in the same week as the scheme was struck down by courts in the Netherlands, on grounds that it infringed on human rights to privacy.

I would still call on the ALP to make sure that the debate does not proceed past the second reading stage in the House of Representatives, for the single reason that the Parliament still does not have the amendments that the Government has proposed.

Scott speaks to the media at Parliament House about the need for the Government to delay debate on their mandatory data retention legislation, amid growing concern about the regime, including from media and legal organisations.