Federal Attorney-General George Brandis has rubbished concerns raised by telecommunications companies about new national security proposals.

Major companies have spoken to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull about the Government’s new attempts at cyber-security legislation, saying there are worried that the laws will be heavy-handed and ham-fisted.

The Communications Alliance – a telecoms lobby - says the proposed laws are “intrusive” and “unjustifiable”.

But Senator Brandis is only partly listening.

“The Communications Alliance, through their spokesman yesterday [Thursday], expressed some criticisms at the margin of an exposure draft,” he told reporters on the weekend.

“The very reason we published an exposure draft was to solicit that feedback from the industry,” he said.

“We will be considering carefully the observations that the industry has made in finalising the legislation.”

Telstra says companies such as itself, not the Government, are “best placed to manage security issues on our networks” and that “any government intervention should be light touch and principles-based”.

The proposed changes to the Telecommunications Act would hold telcos accountable for the security of their networks:

“Carriers and carriage service providers must do their best to protect telecommunications networks and facilities from unauthorised interference or unauthorised access,” the proposed amendment reads.

But no-one from the government can describe what those new obligations would entail, what changes would be required to meet them, or who will bear the cost.

The new laws also seek to give the Attorney-General’s department the power to demand telcos fall into line:

“The Attorney-General or Attorney-General's secretary may give directions to a carrier or a carriage service provider in circumstances involving a risk to security,” the amendment reads.