Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker, thank you for the call. I want to speak on behalf of those victims around the country who have fallen victim to these individuals released under direction 99. The reason that there is now an urgent review and a reversal of direction 99 is that the government has made a catastrophic mistake. To those victims, I say sorry. I really do, because, when you look at a circumstance where somebody has been sexually assaulted or where somebody has been murdered, those lives change forever, and the responsibility of this Prime Minister is to stand up to be strong, not weak; to stand up for what is right, not what is wrong; to stand up to make the decisions that are hard, not always easy. I want to say to those people that there is a better way to lead our country, but it's not under this Prime Minister. This government has let our country down. This Prime Minister made a decision because he was fanboying with the New Zealand Prime Minister at the time. He was completely and utterly besotted with Jacinda Arden and wanted to tell her what she wanted to hear. That's what happened here—nothing more, nothing less. For that, the Prime Minister should stand condemned.

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