Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister of evidence given in Senate estimates that police are not notified of the whereabouts of illegal arrivals by boat due to privacy reasons. Given the cuts to Australian government security agencies and given that more than 10,000 asylum seekers have been released into the community without appropriate ASIO checks, does the Prime Minister support this position?

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

Madam Speaker, on a point of order. There is a bit of argument there.

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

There was a great deal of argument in the question. I was going to give them the member for Canning the opportunity to rephrase if he wants.

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

Madam Speaker, on the point of order, the first sentence of the question delivers a testimony from the evidence given in Senate estimates last night and quotes from Senate estimates last night. It talks about the cuts to security agencies, which have occurred every year for the last five years—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

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

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Attorney-General will leave the chamber under 94(a). Continuing after warnings is not to be tolerated from anybody.

The member for Isaacs then left the chamber .

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

Madam Speaker, on the point of order, I think the Manager of Opposition Business has just confirmed the argument that is in the question.

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

I was going to seek the member for Canning to rephrase the last part of the question.

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We were aware that there are cuts, so does the Prime Minister support—

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! The member for Canning has the call. He has been put on the spot, so I will ask him to commence again and to be given the courtesy of silence in the chamber.

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer to the cuts and the 10,000 asylum seekers that have been released into the community, and the security implications. Does the Prime Minister support this position?

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

Point No. 1: I refer the member who asked the question to everything that I have said in question time about the resourcing of our security agencies, including the increased resourcing in ASIO. I ask him, if he is capable of doing so, to absorb the facts. No. 2: in terms of proposals for cutting back national security efforts, the one that is clearest in my mind is the Leader of the Opposition's proposal to reduce the public sector by 20,000, pointing to 20,000 growth as unacceptable and therefore pointing to a growth in ASIO, AFP and Defence personnel—

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order on relevance. I asked the question in relation to the evidence of the Senate estimates committee and about her position, not the Leader of the Opposition's—

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

The member for Canning will resume his seat. The Prime Minister will be relevant to the question before the Chair.

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

I was asked about security resourcing and I am being relevant to that section of the question. I am saying that I think it is a good thing that we have more Defence personnel than we used to. I think it is a good thing that we have more reservists than we used to. It is a good thing that we have more AFP than we used to. And it is also a good thing that there are more people employed in ASIO than there used to be. I would certainly not be advocating, as others in this parliament have, that that should be cut to the bone.

On the question of notification of police, police can always get information which they require. I refer the member to the shadow minister for immigration who, at an earlier point this year, floated a proposal for notification of communities. When the shadow Treasurer was asked about this proposal the best he could say was, 'That is an issue for debate.' When the member for McMillan was asked about this proposal he said that the kind of vilification—

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

The Prime Minister will resume her seat. The Manager of Opposition Business: a point of relevance has already been taken.

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

Madam Speaker, on another point of order on relevance. You have asked the Prime Minister to answer the question. She was asked whether she agreed that the whereabouts of illegal migrants should not be disclosed for privacy reasons—

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

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

I have indicated that police can get the information they need and I am now going to reactions to proposals about notifications. The proposal was put out by the shadow minister for immigration. The shadow Treasurer distanced himself from it—

Mr Morrison interjecting—

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

The member for Cook!

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

The member for McMillan described it as the kind of vilification of asylum seekers that is unacceptable in this nation. Senator Brandis denied ever discussing it with the shadow minister for immigration. Parliamentary secretary Scott Ryan said that he is not familiar with the detail, and it all ended up with a rather embarrassing admission from Tony Jones that it was the shadow minister's proposal—his own proposal—and he acknowledged that on the opposition benches people were not prepared to stand alongside it. So if we are going to have this kind of material put before the House then let us have all of it put before the House, including that members of the opposition have been revolted by policy suggestions put forward by the shadow minister for immigration, and for good reason.