Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, we find those opposite doing what they do best, especially when it comes to their nine long years in government. We're seeing another attempt by those opposite at lulling themselves into a false sense of security when it comes to their record. Leading those opposite into this trance-like state of cognitive dissonance was, of course, the member for Wannon. Their constant demonstrations of historical revisionism in this place are effectively an ironclad guarantee that they are doomed to repeat each and every mistake—and I say the word 'mistake' quite charitably as an exercise in restraint.

It is curious that the member is leading the MPI for those opposite today. You would think the member for Dickson would use every opportunity to cosplay as a strongman. In the same way, his love of secrecy as a minister allowed him to spend many years at the cabinet table flying under the radar, cosplaying as competent during the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison Liberal governments—the grand architect of many small and large mistakes. Many of those have already been disinfected by the sunlight of a government that believes in transparency and accountability. I'm sure the best is yet to come! Watch this space! The moment he showed the Australian people he could smile when those pearly whites were out on display after he resigned from the final Turnbull cabinet must have all been an act. If this weren't the case, we wouldn't be continuing to uncover and correct the litany of mistakes made under the Dutton regime, particularly through his time as Minister for Home Affairs. I'm sure he will brush aside any and all kinds of criticism like this, but I know that deep down that glistening smile he has in his wheelhouse turns upside down.

The time limits placed on MPI debate speeches make it quite hard to provide granular detail on the worst of the worst or even to have enough time to put the member for Dickson's legacy into a BuzzFeed style list. But I will name just a few examples of the member for Dickson's direct contributions to national security and a safe and cohesive society. We will start with some of the more recent examples and, time permitting, move on to dessert.

The first example was the review handed down by former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Christine Nixon AO, into the abuses of Australia's visa system. Another review was conducted by former Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson, whose assessment of his and his government's job of protecting our borders is 'almost a decade of wilful neglect'. We also had the review conducted by former director-general of ASIO Dennis Richardson, whom those opposite probably describe as a big lefty as a result of the report. What the review found to have occurred on our borders under the Leader of the Opposition's watch borders on horrifying: giving contracts to companies whose leadership were involved in everything under the sun, from bribery to drug smuggling, arms trafficking, money laundering and even attempting to avoid US sanctions in place against the Iranian government. I can certainly sympathise with the latter. I'm sure all of us here try to avoid US sanctions on Iran, although this is mostly accomplished by not having any personal or business dealings with high-ranking Iranian officials. I'm sure those opposite believe that all these things make up the secret sauce of keeping Australia safe and secure. They believe that to defeat a criminal you have to think like one. The Department of Home Affairs under the Leader of the Opposition's watch certainly assembled the Avengers, paying them handsomely. I'm sure they all appreciated getting something close to, by their standards, an honest day's work. The Leader of the Opposition's record on border security is a lot like the TV show Scandal: you can expect at least a scandal every episode. Sadly, that show ended years ago, but, thankfully, the opposition leader's time as a minister and a member of the National Security Committee of Cabinet did as well.

The reality is that the Albanese Labor government has invested millions more into national security and protecting our borders compared to the time in government of those opposite, not that long ago. Those opposite will pretend to hear the Treasurer deliver his budget address later tonight, but they will still thump their chests and deny these self-evident facts. No wonder those opposite want to see a nuclear Australia. They need something to distract geiger counters stuck in the same room as the opposition leader.

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