Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

National security is not a matter which is owned by either party. National security is something which is owned by the vast majority of this parliament across the political spectrum. The vast majority of members of the Labor Party and conservative parties, evidently, have enormous concern for the security of our fellow Australian citizens. It was a Labor Prime Minister who created Australia's navy. Labor Prime Ministers were in power at the critical moments of both the First World War and the Second World War. It was a Labor Prime Minister who established ASIO. Labor has as strong a history in relation to national security as any party that has served in this parliament. But when we see one party consistently trying to use national security as a means by which it gets political advancement—and that is what we have witnessed over the last 48 hours—that belittles the significance of Australia's national security and seeks to make partisan an area of policy which is simply not.

What we have seen in the way this opposition has acted—be it in respect of metadata, be it in respect of this issue in relation to stripping dual citizens, be it in respect of Australia's engagement in armed conflict overseas, be it in respect of strengthening the character test—is an opposition which has been absolutely willing to work through, in a bipartisan and a constructive manner, national security issues to reach a very sensible conclusion. But all we have asked along the way is what the Australian people would expect of us along the way—that is, that we use our wit and our intellect, and we review everything that is put before us thoroughly. That is all that we sought to do in the last 48 hours by seeking a day in which we could examine amendments against the backdrop where this has been in the political domain since January of 2014.

The government really does need to think very carefully about the way in which it handles these matters. This has been, in many respects, an exemplary process, one which has led to a very sensible set of amendments and a legislative package which creates the balance between dealing with a very legitimate issue of national security, whilst making sure that there are not a whole lot of other adverse consequences which people legitimately have concerns about as well. And we got there. We got there by working through on this in a constructive and bipartisan manner.

But it behoves all of us, in this place, to ensure that the way in which we engage, when it comes to national security, is not to seek to make this an issue which belongs to one party rather than to the other. And because that has not occurred in respect of this legislative package, I am pleased to say that the opposition supports it.

Debate adjourned.

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