Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm just reporting the facts, just reporting the commentary!

Nevertheless, the bill before us is about counterterrorism. We also learnt while we were there that the Israelis spend north of 30 per cent of their GDP on defence. The Iron Dome technology has three layers, and has north of 95 per cent accuracy in intercepting bombs that are launched at their community—mid-range, high-range and ultrahigh-range missiles. It was a daunting experience to be there and understand the gravity of what the world of terrorism looks like.

When we went into the West Bank we saw memorials not that dissimilar to the memorials in our small communities where we honour our Anzacs. In the West Bank they also have memorials, but they honour those who have strapped suicide vests to themselves and gone to take the lives of innocent people. The government pays their families a stipend. It's called 'pay for slay'. The more people you take out—innocent people, children—with a suicide vest, the higher your family's remuneration, and then you're honoured in perpetuity on these memorial-like stone markings outside significant buildings.

When we grasp what a country that is under constant terrorism threat looks like, and we cross-reference that to what we have here, it is a good thing that both sides of our House are united in arming our AFP personnel with the tools that they need—and I commend them for never having had to engage one of them. But the fact that we arm them gives us a sense of what our preparedness is and the lengths that we will go to to protect the freedoms and the liberties that we have, and the extent that this parliament will go to to protect those, so that, every night when we put our head on our pillow, we sleep under a blanket of security provided by our forefathers and the fact that our AFP personnel will fight to protect us on a daily basis. I commend the bill to the House.

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