Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. I refer to the statement by the Minister for Home Affairs on 8 June 2012 that Ali Al Abassi—also known as Captain Emad—had been on the movement alert list for some time. When was Captain Emad placed on the department's movement alert list?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. I note that last week he said there were 'urgent and important' questions to answer but he forgot to ask any of them yesterday. It is a matter of public record that Mr Ali Al Abassi had been under investigation by the Australian Federal Police for some time. The Australian Federal Police did not have enough evidence to successfully refer him for prosecution and nor were there grounds—or are there currently grounds—to cancel his visa on character grounds. The member for Cook has been alleging all of last week—

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order on direct relevance. The minister was asked: when was Captain Emad placed on the movement alert list?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister has the call and will refer to the question.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Cook said all of last week that Mr Al Abassi had been on the movement alert list for some time and that I should have known. But again he has not checked his facts—and he has not checked his facts today and he has taken out of context things said by my ministerial colleagues. Mr Al Abassi was under AFP investigation and was on the watch list known as PACE, which is an AFP watch list. He was placed on the movement alert list, managed by my department, on 7 June.

The member for Cook has said that the minister for immigration should be aware of every person who is on the movement alert list. Given that there are 639,000 identities on the movement alert list and 1.71 million documents on the movement alert list, I look forward to him implementing that policy if he is ever minister for immigration.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. Given that Captain Emad had been on the movement alert list, or the other list that the minister refers to, and that the Minister for Home Affairs had said he had been on the movement alert list, which is what I referred to, and that he has just said that Mr Al Abassi was the subject of a two-year Federal Police investigation, why didn't the minister move to take advice and cancel his visa under section 109 of the Migration Act? (Time expired)

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sure there was a question in there somewhere. The fact of the matter is that the member for Cook is wrong again. He has had to rewrite his question on the run because he has got basic facts wrong. The fact is that the consistent advice from the Australian Federal Police to the Minister for Home Affairs and to me has been that premature cancellation of visas can undermine their investigations and could endanger successful prosecutions. The Australian Federal Police have successfully prosecuted many people smugglers. If 'Sergeant Morrison' has a different view based on his vast—

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order on relevance. The question was: why did you allow Captain Emad to fly the coop?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. The minister has the call.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is hard to be relevant when there is no question asked, Madam Deputy Speaker. But if Sergeant Morrison has a different view based on his vast years of policing experience—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, the minister will refer to the member appropriately.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sure that the Minister for Home Affairs will make the chief commissioner of the AFP available so that the member for Cook can avail the chief commissioner of the benefit of his vast years of policing experience.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Mackellar can be heard by me very clearly.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unfortunately the member for Mackellar was also heard by me and she should withdraw.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Mackellar will withdraw.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw the term 'bullet head'.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Mackellar will leave the chamber under standing order 94(a). Continual abuse of the rules with respect to coming to the despatch box will not be tolerated.

The member for Mackellar then left the chamber—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, without wishing to earn your ire, the provocation from ministers today, in shouting and bullying the opposition, particularly some of the members on this side of the House, has been utterly unacceptable. A member of the opposition has been ejected from the chamber for simply standing up—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

The Leader of the House is not assisting. I am fairly confident that the member for Mackellar can look after herself. The member for Reid has the call.