Digital Rights Watch welcomes the opportunity to make this submission and the work of this inquiry in giving due scrutiny to an agreement that will have a profound and long-running impact on our nation.

While the focus of this inquiry has been on AUKUS Pillar I for good reason, we ask the committee to recognise the impact of Pillar II on national sovereignty, the rights of our citizens and the way our data could be used in the development of military technology. There is very little to be known about Pillar II - the publicly-available material is remarkably limited.

As presented, the aim is to work with the US and UK to develop autonomous weapons systems - including for use in the air and on the seas. These are the stated ambitions, even though there are serious concerns about the human rights implications of autonomous weapons. Australia should not be progressing the development of this technology without a clear vision and plan of action for upholding its international legal obligations, including in respect of human rights.