The government has been forced to agree to the appointment of a list of security-cleared lawyers to argue the public interest case before judges or the attorney general as part of any decision to allow a government agency access to journalists’ metadata.The changes have secured the passage of the metadata laws with Labor’s support and the cancellation of a parliamentary inquiry scheduled for Friday, at which media executives were preparing to rail against the implications of the laws for journalists.
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/19/journalists-metadata-barristers-public-interest-case-agencies-access