Agencies want access to texts, and social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Agencies want access to our web and telephone history data.

THE Gillard government has defended a plan to force telcos to store the internet and phone data of all Australians for up to two years, saying it is needed to allow our intelligence and police agencies to effectively target organised criminals and terrorists.

''In this day and age, an age where governments all around the world are grappling with the challenges of terrorism and organised crime, it is important that our relevant agencies have access to the information that they need,'' the assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury, said.

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Illustration: Simon Letch

The Coalition, however, has refused to throw its support behind the controversial data-retention scheme, with its legal spokesman, George Brandis, who also sits on the committee reviewing the proposal, only saying he would ''examine the issues carefully''.

His response was sparked by a Fairfax Media report, which stated the scheme was being considered as part of a review of national security legislation by a parliamentary committee.

It is only one among more than 40 proposals contained in a discussion paper provided to the committee. If they were all passed it would be the most significant expansion of the intelligence community's powers since the Howard-era reforms of the early 2000s.

The Greens and civil liberties groups described the government's plan as an assault on privacy.

One of the scheme's most vocal opponents, Greens senator Scott Ludlam, said the Gillard government had yet to make a case for mandatory data retention. ''I have yet to see a real justification for why this is necessary,'' he said. ''I don't buy it. Just because these forms of data exist doesn't mean we should track them.''

More than 90 per cent of almost 9000 people who responded to a Fairfax online readers' poll yesterday opposed the policy.