Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Deputy Speaker; I withdraw. But many of his colleagues in their previous contributions did use, as you yourself reflected on, Deputy Speaker, incredible volume. I think not only the member for Wannon but others mistake volume and confected outrage for rational argument. I find it offensive, frankly, that at a time when the heads of our security agencies have called for calm and rational discussion, at a time when there are fractures in social cohesion because of significant issues happening, they are deliberately ramping up the volume, deliberately trying to increase the amount of anxiety in the community. I find that offensive. They should reflect on that confected outrage and have a good look at themselves.

I could provide a long speech. I could rant and rave like they did about the previous government's record of releasing 1,300 criminals from detention. I could go on for minutes and minutes about that. I could then go on to talk about how they were released without electronic monitoring, curfews or other conditions. There were no joint ABF or AFP operations to monitor those criminals that were released by those opposite under the Leader of the Opposition's watch. I could do that and speak for the rest of the speech on how badly they ran that process.

Instead I will focus on the Albanese government's positive achievements in the immigration portfolio and give some reflections from my part of the world. Its efforts to provide sanctuary for people fleeing war zones is particularly worth reflecting on: 1,200 Syrians and Iraqis were resettled in Australia as part of an increased dedicated intake under the humanitarian program; and almost 90 per cent of the 6,317 Afghan evacuees who arrived in Australia on a temporary humanitarian stay have transitioned to a permanent humanitarian visa. We are helping people getting out of war zones and, at the same time, supporting our national security organisations and ensuring that it is done well and effectively.

We are delivering a better planned migration system that works for the whole nation. We have heard from the previous speaker and others about how some of our major cities are under some stress when it comes to their infrastructure, but there is a lot more to our nation than just a couple of big cities; there is regional Australia. From my vantage point as the member for Darwin and Palmerston in the Northern Territory, and in particular in my new role as Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans' Affairs and Northern Australia, I know the integral role that the North is playing in Australia's future. A properly balanced migration system and a better planned migration system is about the important issue for our whole nation of growing the north of our country by transitioning to net zero, developing our critical minerals industry and implementing the government's National Defence Strategy, with $14 billion to $18 billion spent on upgrading bases across northern Australia to ensure our proper preparations for the defence of our nation but also our role with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.

For Territory businesses, our migration strategy means skilled workers to make our Top End more productive. We need people in health care, people in the digital economy and people to help in the net zero transition to becoming the renewable energy superpower that we can be. On the weekend, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and I opened a new campus for Charles Darwin University in the city of Darwin. We're going to welcome more international students into the Territory but we understand that we need to make sure that overall immigration is better planned, and that's what our government is doing.

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