Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General. I refer to the Attorney’s remarks on Monday regarding the trial of Benbrika and others, and I ask the Attorney: weren’t those remarks made prior to the conclusion of the jury finishing its deliberations, hence the criticism by Judge Bongiorno? Do you accept the criticisms of the trial judge?

Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the member’s question. What I said at the outset in my press conference on Monday was:

The jury is still deliberating on charges against two individuals and the court orders remain in place in respect to those matters, so, as such, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on detail relating to those matters.

I went on:

However, I welcome the convictions that have been handed down today.

They were in respect of six individuals. For the record, might I say in respect of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments about reckless comments that, as I understand it, the defence counsel, in a submission that went to nearly two pages of transcript, challenged two of my comments. The first was where I said:

Successful prosecutions are of course important, vitally important, in sending a clear message to those who may be influenced by violent extremism.

That was one quote the defence counsel took objection to. The second statement the defence counsel took objection to was:

The seriousness of the offences involved in this case highlights why we must do all we can to ensure the public’s security.

They were the two comments that the defence counsel took exception to, in some two pages of transcript.

In terms of the member’s question, can I say—and it should be put on the record—that we certainly appreciate the work of the court. There was tremendous pressure on the court, the judge, the staff and the jury. We recognise the tremendous work. The trial went from February this year, with over 50 witnesses and 6,000 pages of evidence—a tremendous workload undertaken by the court. But in my comments on Monday—and I will table the transcript shortly—I specifically stated that my comments were not directed at matters still before the court.

While the defence counsel has a professional obligation to defend the interests of his client, my role as Attorney-General is to ensure public safety. In the face of six convictions being handed down, I saw it as my role to assure the community that all agencies are working hard to protect the safety of all Australians.

The other point I made in my statement on Monday was that it is important to recognise the role played by members of the Muslim community in assisting with the investigation. In other words, while, yes, certainly individuals have been convicted of very serious offences in these proceedings, this does not reflect upon the Australian Muslim community generally. I thought it important to make those points in the context of the widespread media reporting that was inevitably going to occur.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The point of order is on relevance. The Attorney-General has been asked about the judge’s comments and the judge’s criticism of him, and he has not responded to that.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his place.

Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will not be long in concluding, but it was important to reassure the community that it was also important to specifically acknowledge the assistance provided by Muslim Australians, a fact specifically acknowledged by—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What has that got to do with the question?

Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What has it got to do with the issue? In the context where there was to be widespread media coverage of very significant, very alarming events, it was very, very important that we took steps to ensure that the integrity of our vibrant and multicultural society was protected, and it was important in both respects to reassure the community. Going back to comments made by the Prime Minister, our role is not to defend the accused; our role is to defend public safety. And, again, I would like to recognise the tremendous work of the Australian Federal Police, the Victorian police, ASIO and the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions. Individually and collectively these agencies have done an outstanding job. Once again, let me for the record indicate the government’s respect and appreciation for the work of the court in managing this long and complex matter.