[4] Bryne was pre-selected by the ALP as their candidate for the 1999 Holt by-election in a "full-scale factional battle", winning with the backing of the SDA trade union.

[16] Byrne likened the cuts to the US austerity measures which prompted warnings from US intelligence agencies, in the wake of the Boston bombings, that their ability to combat terrorism was at risk.

Byrne went on the record as criticising the Abbott government's delay in implementing the report's recommendations as "unconscionable", saying that legislation should have been brought before parliament much earlier.

[21] Byrne argued that as the intelligence and law enforcement agencies had been advising the government of the need for them to receive greater powers which may have had the potential to impinge on civil liberties and democratic freedoms, that the PJCIS should be given the appropriate oversight capacity to make inquiries on the behalf of the public for them to have confidence in the use of additional powers for these agencies.

[22] After the PJCIS handed down its 36 recommendations on the government's controversial foreign fighter's legislation,[23] Byrne appeared on Sky News' The Dalley Edition to clarify the committee's position on the intrusiveness of some aspects of the legislation such as provisions for the lowering of the thresholds for agencies to access preventive detention orders, control orders, and questioning and detention powers, arguing that they needed to be counterbalanced by safeguards, most important of which would be sunset clauses.

[22] Byrne also gave an interview to journalist David Speers in the aftermath of the Lindt Cafe Siege where he called for an independent judicial inquiry into the events leading up to and during the crisis which would have coercive and subpoena powers to summons any public official or minister to give evidence on the incident to regain public confidence in authorities.

[25] After Muslim constituents with relatives affected by fighting in the Middle East had asked him why the coalition was taking so long to defeat IS, with an absence of a substantial victory and the appearance that the conflict was being lost despite claims that the coalition were gaining some advantages over IS, Byrne told ABC News that Australia required "a complete, cohesive, clear strategy, a cogent strategy..with some form of timeframe to how to deal with these people".

Byrne said that he was prompted to distribute the flyers after many people in his electorate were too afraid to open their doors and talk to him while he was door-knocking due to recent gang activity and fear of violent Ice users, something which Byrne call "completely unacceptable" and promised that, if re-elected, one of his first orders of business would be to work with authorities to crush the Apex gang in his region and to ensure ice manufacturers and dealers are put out of business.

Along with other ALP colleagues Mike Kelly and Kimberley Kitching, Byrne has been a strong advocate to shift political attention to "focusing on national resilience as much as military threats".

[33] Stephen Conroy, who had overseen broadband roll out in Australia in 2011, indicated that Bryne and Hastie had played a pivotal role in the UK's decision.

Byrne rejected the idea that Uber provided a ride-sharing service and argued the company needed to be governed by the same rules as taxis.

The hearings are part of Operation Watts, a coordinated investigation between IBAC and the Victorian Ombudsman, which is looking into a range of matters including allegations of 'branch stacking' aired in media reports in 2020.