Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister of evidence given in Senate estimates that the government held an accused Egyptian terrorist, an individual who was the subject of an Interpol red notice, at the low-security Inverbrackie detention centre in the Adelaide Hills for almost a year. Does the Prime Minister agree that it was appropriate to hold an accused terrorist, subject to Interpol's highest form of alert, at this low-security facility?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For obvious reasons I am not going to canvas an individual example. I trust that those opposition members who in the past have come forth in support of decency when the shadow minister for immigration has been out in the community trying to raise these kinds of fears again come forth. I hope that those members of the opposition do step forth, because what we are seeing from the opposition here is an ugly campaign to try to raise fear in the Australian community. It is a very ugly campaign. Coming here with false claims about national security, when it is actually the Leader of the Opposition who wants to take 20,000 jobs out of the public sector, including in national security; coming in here with false claims designed to raise fear in the community—

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

I rise on a point of order obviously on relevance, Madam Speaker. The Prime Minister was asked whether she agreed that an accused Egyptian terrorist had been held in low-security for a year, and she has to answer that question. Does she agree?

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minster has the call and will refer to the question before the chair.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let us name this ugly campaign for what it is. From the government's point of view, of course, what we will do and continue to do is to make appropriate security arrangements for Australians with our security agencies resourced as I have described to the House today.