Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer to the previous answer of the Minister representing the Attorney-General. On 12 September last year Australia's terror alert level was raised to its highest level in our history. Is it correct that no protocols were changed in ministerial offices, including the Attorney-General's office, as a result of the terror alert level being raised?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the member for Isaacs well knows, this government put in a range of measures as a result of the change in the security threat level, including over $600 million in extra funding; and, indeed, as I recall, the Labor opposition were briefed on more than one occasion about the changes that were made to security arrangements in departments and in this place.

I have to say that this line of questioning from this former Attorney-General is loathsome, because he is seeking to make political capital out of a national tragedy. We have seen it in Senate estimates. We know what Labor is seeking to do here, and I find it utterly deplorable.

What it does give me the opportunity to do, however, is to contrast the Labor Party's inaction on national security compared with the action taken by the coalition. This member for Isaacs, when he was Attorney-General, ignored the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor's first substantive annual report that was handed down in December 2012. He shelved the Council of Australia Government's review of counter-terrorism legislation when it was finalised in March 2013. He did nothing about the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security's inquiry into potential reforms of the national security legislation when it was tabled in June 2013.

In contrast, this government has secured passage of four major tranches of legislation to strengthen our agency's ability to investigate and monitor and arrest and prosecute home-grown violent extremists and returning foreign fighters. Of course, when he was aware of the growing terror threat, the member for Isaacs did not pass one single national security law when he was Attorney-General. Indeed, like his Labor predecessors, he ignored urgent requests from our agencies for data retention law and then did his best to frustrate our attempts to pass such legislation.

So this line of questioning is utterly contemptible and, as a former Attorney-General, he ought to be ashamed of himself.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence on both sides. I call the honourable member for Wright.