Queensland Labor MP Graham Perrett says he has serious concerns about the Abbott government's proposed data retention bill but remains confident it can be passed with judicious amendments.

Mr Perrett was one of a handful Labor politicians who attended a screening of CitizenFour, Laura Poitras' documentary about US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, at Parliament House on Monday evening.

Labor MP Graham Perrett at Parliament House. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Civil liberties councils across Australia organised the screening with the help of Greens Senator Scott Ludlam. The award-winning film documents the circumstances in which Snowden blew the lid off the NSA's mass surveillance activities in the US and the Britain.

The documentary contains extensive footage of investigative journalists Glenn Greenwald and Guardian investigative reporter Ewen MacAskill interviewing Snowden in the Hong Kong hotel room where he lay low developing a plan to seek political asylum outside the US.