Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I feel most obliged to speak on today's MPI, because my electorate of Durack is probably impacted the most by this Albanese Labor government's failure to secure our borders. Over the weekend, it was reported that four more illegal boat arrivals had reached Broome. This marks the fourth time in just six months that illegal boat arrivals have reached the Western Australian coast covering my electorate.

I'm extremely proud to represent northern Western Australia, and let me tell you that I am sick and tired of this Albanese Labor government putting my constituents in harm's way. I regularly receive correspondence from constituents of mine saying that they are worried about the enormous risk these arrivals present to northern Western Australia, particularly in terms of safety, public health and biosecurity. I am concerned by the risk of serious diseases entering northern Western Australia through these unauthorised arrivals. If rabies, foot-and-mouth disease or lumpy skin disease was to reach Australia, it would have a devastating impact on our environment as well as our agricultural and pastoral industries. The Prime Minister needs to take this issue seriously before we are crippled with a serious incident, or a return to the large-scale illegal arrivals that occurred under the last Labor government. We simply cannot let that human tragedy happen again.

This latest arrival, along with others across Australia last week, means that there have now been 17 attempted people-smuggling ventures to reach Australia under the Albanese government. During our time in government, we stopped the boats. We had nine years of safe and secure borders. But now it appears we are in danger of returning to the full-scale people-smuggling operations that took place under the disastrous Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments.

You would think those opposite would have learned their lesson from their last term in office, which saw 50,000 illegal boat arrivals in a 820 boats, and, tragically, 1,200 deaths at sea. Unfortunately, it is clear that those opposite have learned nothing. Just as Rudd dismantled the Howard government's policy, the Albanese government has undermined Operation Sovereign Borders, which cleaned up the mess they had left us when we came to office in 2013. They have abolished temporary protection visas and are planning a cut of some $400 million in border security funding over the next three years. Incredibly, just as illegal boats are arriving, patrols across north Australian waters are decreasing. Aerial patrol hours have reduced by 20.7 per cent, and maritime patrol days have decreased by 12.2 per cent.

Let me tell you: I'll be paying very close attention to the Treasurer's speech tonight and to the budget papers, to see if their planned cuts will be reversed, and to see if they will be any more resources to defend and patrol northern Western Australia. That is what my constituents are crying out for. The people that I represent deserve nothing less.

Of course, the government's immigration failures reach much further than reduced patrols or cuts to border security. Their response to the NZYQ ruling of the High Court has been one of the greatest examples of government incompetence on record. Late last year, the government released 152 hardened criminals into the community. This included seven murderers, 37 sex offenders, and 72 people who have committed very serious crimes. This was a mess from the start, with no plan from the government to protect the community from these criminals. There were simply plopped into hotels, right across Australia, and allowed to come and go as they pleased. The minister for immigration and the Minister for Home Affairs need stand up and both take responsibility for the numerous failures that they have overseen. Also front and centre, with regard to community safety, is a growing issue of radicalisation and antisemitism. In recent weeks we've seen two attacks motivated by religious extremism. We've seen the Minister for Education refusing to condemn the 'From the river to the sea' chant and we've seen the government reward international acts of terror at the UN. It is shameful. The foreign affairs minister and the Prime Minister should both hang their heads in shame. The government has made it crystal clear that only the coalition can be trusted to keep our borders secure.

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