Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm in shock and I'm in disbelief that I have to be standing here today to give this speech. I'm outraged. Eighty-four hardened criminals, noncitizens, have been released into our community from detention. Rapists, paedophiles, sex offenders and murderers are now free in our country. The worst part is that the federal government was told in June this year that this could be a possibility, but, instead of working towards protecting Australians and having a plan if the High Court overturned this 20-year-old precedent, they have put rushed legislation through that hasn't even been written for 24 hours. That in itself is unbelievable considering the types of criminals that have now released from detention.

To have a man who brutally shot a pregnant woman and then blew up her body with explosives walking free in this country is disgusting. As a father of two young boys, to know that a man who raped a 10-year-old boy is no longer in detention is unthinkable. Australians deserve to be put first. Australians deserve to be safe and they deserve to be protected. We in the opposition are prepared to stay here in parliament for as long as it takes to get this right. We are prepared to put Australians first.

See this speech in context