Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

Sorry. The Treasurer said of the Prime Minister when he was failing to address the cost-of-living crisis that it was like Driving Miss Daisy. What we have seen from the Prime Minister when it comes to keeping Australian people safe is like 'Flying Miss Daisy' because he's not here to keep the Australian community safe. It is absolutely deplorable.

He sat in that chair this week while the minister for immigration refused to answer question after question as to whether the visa arrangements were put in place before the people were released or after they were released. We still haven't had that question answered. Just remember that these are rapists, these are child molesters and these are murderers. It now seems from the once again excellent reporting that they were released without visas. We asked the minister three times yesterday and he refused to rule that out. If that is not the greatest failing of a government to keep the community safe, I do not know what is.

We just heard the minister for immigration say when he introduced this bill that this is an immediate response. Those were his words—'This is an immediate response.' An immediate response would have taken place last Wednesday before you let them out, not here now. I appeal to the government. What we need to see before this parliament goes anywhere this week is a new regime put in place that allows for preventive detention, which allows for those 84 to be redetained. I say to the minister: 'Say to your department that you want that outcome. Don't sit there and listen to all the reasons why it might be difficult or there might be trouble in doing it. Learn to be a minister. Actually direct your department to get you the outcome that the Australian people want.' It's very clear what the outcome is that the Australian people want. They want these people redetained. Let's not beat around the bush on this. What do the Australian people want? They want these people redetained.

What we want and need from this government—and it's why the Prime Minister should be here to direct his ministers that this is the outcome we want—is a new regime in place to do it. We learnt today that the government have asked for some sort of new regime. They've asked for that. We can't understand why that wasn't asked for in June so that we would be prepared today and would be debating today the new regime that would allow those 84 to be redetained. As the Leader of the Opposition has mentioned, we're about to see an additional 340 released into the community. So we have 84 now and potentially 340 more while the government is completely asleep at the wheel and is sitting on its hands and not doing enough to make sure the community is safe. Their No. 1 priority is to keep the Australian community safe. They have failed and they should be ashamed of their failure. (Time expired)

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