Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to follow my colleague the honourable member for Gorton on the Inspector of Transport Security Bill 2006. I notice that the only government speaker to date has been the honourable member for O’Connor. I listened intently to his contribution, and it was a good one, but I am not sure it was actually on this bill. This is a very serious bill involving national security. The member for O’Connor accused the opposition of refusing to cooperate with the Howard government on serious matters like national security. I recall that one bill the then Attorney-General wanted very quick passage of through the House went through the House and the Senate in less than 24 hours. The opposition is always willing to cooperate with the government on important national security matters, but as an opposition we need to question what the government is doing, how it is doing it and whether or not it is effective. The honourable member for Gorton pointed out that it has taken five years after September 11 for this legislation to come to fruition. That is not a government that is operating on overdrive. It is not exactly breaking the speed limits. Yet many hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens are travelling by aeroplane, by train and, in fewer numbers, by ship and they ought to be guaranteed that, as much as possible, their travel is safe.

Debate interrupted.

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