Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for that question. In this session of parliament, the parliament is going to have to deal with two very important issues in relation to community safety. First, it's the toughest crackdown on child sex offenders that we have seen in this country in a generation, including mandatory minimum sentences for the worst offenders. We also need to deal with illegal firearms trafficking. The government plans to crack down on it, and we'll be putting legislation back before the Senate for the fourth time, again including minimum mandatory sentences for people who smuggle guns in this country.

When we introduced the first tranche of legislation dealing with child sex tourism, the Leader of the Opposition stood up in parliament within two hours and pledged the Labor Party's support. We announced the toughest crackdown on child sex offenders last month yet the Labor Party still have not decided where they stand on this issue. Seriously, what is there to prevaricate about? We want paedophiles off the streets, and we believe this legislation deserves bipartisan support.

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