Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On the failure of the government to keep Australians safe:

The first responsibility of government is to provide for the safety and security of its people.

These are not my words; these are the words of none other than Deputy Prime Minister Marles on 9 February this year. While I've been in this chamber I've heard the member for Wills on at least five occasions mention 'confected outrage'. He only mentioned the High Court decision on one occasion, and that is the subject of what we are here to talk about today. The first duty of a government is to keep its citizens safe and secure. Therefore, the first job of the Prime Minister must be to ensure that his ministers are carrying out their work to similarly ensure that Australians are kept safe and secure.

Following a decision of the High Court on 8 November this year, the Albanese government—through the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs—has released 83 hardened convicted criminals into the community amongst our citizens. The High Court has overturned a 20-year-old precedent that has underpinned the migration policy of governments on both sides. However, the issue the government now faces is we have people who were refused entry into Australia on character grounds being released into the Australian community. There is no confected outrage over here, Member for Wills; this is real outrage, and there is real outrage out of here, from this place, by ordinary Australians, particularly those in Western Australia.

During the court case, Solicitor-General Dr Stephen Donaghue told the High Court that the people that are the subject of this decision are criminals who have been convicted of murder, of rape and of child sexual assault. I do not for one moment suggest that the minister or the government have any control over decisions of the High Court; we were just subject to a fairly patronising lecture by the Minister for Home Affairs about the separation of powers. However, a responsible minister, a responsible government, would have been fully briefed on the issues and the hearing before the High Court, would have been prepared and would have considered: 'What if the High Court's decision is unfavourable? What next?' The minister did have that ability at his disposal.

There should have been a legislative response to this issue. There should have been a legislative response available earlier this week. We have said on this side that we will work with the government on this issue. We regard this as such an important matter. We will work with the government. The opposition leader has said we will sit all night if necessary to bring forth bipartisan legislation to keep Australians safe.

What higher order priority could the minister for immigration have than to have had that legislative response ready to address the High Court decision? I've been in question time this week, where the minister has been questioned about the way in which these people have been released into the community—questions that the minister, on most occasions, was unable to adequately address. The ABC has just reported that the minister released some of these detainees without visas, without conditions. We asked this question of the minister today, just over an hour and a half ago, and the minister was either unable or unwilling to give the Australian people any assurances over what conditions have been imposed. I further concur with the comments made by my colleagues the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow minister for immigration that the parliament should not rise this week until the government brings forward this legislation.

If we just look very quickly at a couple of the facts around some of these people that have been released, there is one that is especially horrific—that is, a fellow who was convicted in Malaysia who shot to death a pregnant woman in the jungle just outside Kuala Lumpur and then blew up her body with explosives. The minister did not think that this was a matter of such importance that legislation should have been ready this week. The primary responsibility of a government is to provide for the safety and security of its people. The government, the Prime Minister and the minister for immigration have been found flat-footed here. The government, the Prime Minister and the minister for immigration have failed to plan, have failed to prepare and have failed Australians.

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