Abbott warns Australia faces "explosion" of crimes without metadata laws

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has warned the country that it risks an "explosion of unsolved crimes" if it does not pass a reform on data retention laws.

Speaking at a press conference on the Gold Coast on Wednesday, Abbott said Australia would be threatened by "unilateral disarmament" if legislation that enables authorities to monitor suspected criminals is not approved.

The plan would enable the government to force phone and internet companies to store data about calls and connections for up to two years as a means of preventing crime.

Abbott linked the storing of metadata with stopping serious criminal activities such as pedophilia and terrorism.

"Metadata and its retention is more important than ever if we are going to be able to track what criminals are doing, whether it be criminals who want to commit terrorist offences, or whether it be people who are committing child abuse offences," the Prime Minister said on Wednesday.

"So much of this kind of activity is being conducted online and that's why we need to keep this data. If we don't get it, it will be a form of unilateral disarmament in the face of criminality."

Abbott went on to reject suggestions that storing metadata could be an invasion of privacy, explaining the differences between retaining metadata and personal details.

"We are talking here about metadata, we are not talking here about the content of communications," he said. "Your web browsing history, what you say on phone calls, it's just the data that the system generates."

"It seems like a small price to pay to give ourselves safety and freedom."

It is believed that information kept by government authorities under the new plans would include: the identity of a subscriber to particular services, the source and destination of a communication, the date, time and duration of a communication, the type of communication used and the location of the equipment used.

If the legislation is approved, retaining the data could cost the federal government up to 312 million U.S. dollars per year. Endi