Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have had to address delays across the whole immigration system since coming to office, because the opposition had run the immigration system into the ground. Systems within government departments that simply aren't working anymore—whether that's Immigration, the DVA or Services Australia—don't make people feel safer.

Let's talk more about the Leader of the Opposition's poor record on keeping Australia safe. He walked out on the apology. The member for Dickson could not bear to be in the same room as an historical apology was being given. Even a simple sorry was a step too far for the opposition leader. How safe do you think he made First Nations people feel? He claimed pregnant rape victims in Nauru were 'trying it on'. There is no context you can wrap around those words to make them okay—none. How safe do you think women felt after those vile, victim-blaming words? He accused a political opponent of using their disability as an excuse. The member for Dickson, worried about his re-election, said that Ali France was using her disability as an excuse for not moving into the electorate. How safe do you think that makes people with disability feel?

When you accuse gangs of particular nationalities of violence, that sows the seeds not just of unrest but also of racism—yes, racism. When you slide onto Sky News and talk about refugees being illiterate and innumerate and how they will take Australian jobs, you may well get a nod and a smile from the host and firm up a vote or two, but, again, it doesn't make anyone feel safe. All of these examples define the opposition leader, the member for Dickson, and, by extension, the coalition he leads—and they don't make people feel safe.

So what does make people feel safe? Good government. Let's talk about women's safety. Our investments in the recent budget bring the total funding for the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children to $3.4 billion. Let's talk about rebuilding trust in government. We came to office with trust in government shredded to pieces by this coalition—Morrison's multiple ministries, a stacked AAT, robodebt, the list goes on. We have created the national Anti-Corruption Commission. We have the new Administrative Review Tribunal about to commence. We have made sure that no future Australian Prime Minister will carry additional powers in secret. And we are responding to the recommendations of a number of reports that outlined the maladministration of the coalition across multiple portfolio areas.

If you govern properly, trust will follow, but it is a fragile thing and must be continually maintained. Those opposite were never up to the task. Let's talk about cybersecurity. Scams are costing Australians billions of dollars every year. Scammers particularly target and prey upon the elderly. We have a Minister for Cyber Security in cabinet, and recent data shows that our actions since coming to office are already starting to make it harder for scammers to steal from Australians. We have also quadrupled funding for the eSafety Commissioner to help keep our children safe from online harm. This is how you make people feel safe.

Addressing climate change makes people feel safe. Getting proactive about emergency management makes people feel safe. That is what the Albanese government is doing. It's what the opposition never did. It is not rocket science, just good government.

The essential quality of good government is that it should have sound and intelligible principles, that it should pursue great national and social objectives with resoluteness, that it should be able to meet the storms that arise from time to time with a proper sense of navigation, that it should have cohesion in its own ranks and a strong sense of mutual loyalty.

That was Robert Menzies in 1961. It's something the coalition might want to revisit.

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