Controversial data retention laws will pass parliament next month if the federal government gets its way.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has written to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten urging Labor to expedite through parliament new powers which force telecommunications companies to store metadata for two years.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks at the National Press Club on Monday. Credit:Getty Images

The laws, which have yet to be debated in the lower house, are designed to give ASIO more scope to identify terrorism but are opposed by civil libertarians and privacy campaigners.

The government is waiting on a parliamentary committee report on the legislation due by the end of the month, but wants Labor's backing to push it through both houses by the week of March 16.