Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister update the House on steps the government is taking to improve community safety by cancelling the visas of criminals?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Tangney very much for his question and his dedication to making sure that Western Australians can live in a safer society. That is what this government is about: to make sure we can take decisions which will make our country safer. It was an absolutely deliberate decision for us to seek out people who are non-citizens, that is, people in our country on visas, who commit criminal offences against Australian citizens, and to cancel their visas. I am pleased to report to the House that we have cancelled a record number of visas over the course of the last year. But we have only just started, and we will continue to work with state and territory policing authorities and intelligence agencies to identify those at the top of the tree and to work with the policing agencies to identify paedophiles and people who have committed serious offences including rape and murder. We will cancel the visas of those people, because we do not believe that they deserve to be in our society.

We have taken advice from the intelligence and policing agencies about those who are most organised in criminal activity. The advice from the agencies is that the people who are the biggest distributors of amphetamines—that is, drugs that end up in the arms of young Australians and destroy the lives of Australian families—are outlaw motorcycle gang members. The advice is very clear, and that is why over the course of the last 12 months we have taken action in relation to 106 bikies, members of outlaw motorcycle gangs, and we have cancelled the visas of those individuals. We will not stop, because we are going to continue to work with those agencies to clean up the sector, to make sure that we can deal with these outlaw motorcycle gang members so they cannot inflict the pain and agony on young children and families around the country. We are not going to be deterred in that process. That is why Australians look with absolute bewilderment at the Leader of the Opposition, because he is one of the few Australians that support these bikies so vehemently. It is an absolute outrage, but ask yourself the question—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They can feign all the outrage they like, but ask yourself the question—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. I was about to say something myself, but I will hear from the Manager of Opposition Business.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unparliamentary language, personal reflection—the list goes on. The minister is completely out of line.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to address the House on this subject. I listened very carefully to the minister on this subject last week, and I have obviously listened very carefully through question time. Following that point of order last week I have examined the House of Representatives Practice and the Hansard pretty extensively. Whilst we do want a robust debate, as I have said before—and, indeed, I think Speaker Jenkins probably summed it up best in 2009—and whilst there are issues of cut and thrust in this place, I do say to the minister that that direct link does go beyond the line. It would assist the House if he withdrew that.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Get out of the gutter!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am happy to withdraw that term, Mr Speaker—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gellibrand will leave under 94(a).

The member for Gellibrand then left the chamber.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

but, if we want to stick with the facts, the fact is that Labor renewed the visa of a bikie in this country who was known to be involved in organised crime. There are links between the Labor Party, the CFMEU and outlaw motorcycle gangs. That is indisputable. These people are accepting money from the CFMEU in the millions of dollars. The CFMEU supports the bikies because the bikies provide the muscle on building sites. These facts cannot be disputed. They have been detailed by royal commissions around the country.

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Isaacs has been warned.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a fact that the Labor Party has taken money and continues to take money from the CFMEU, and the CFMEU have definite links into the outlaw motorcycle gangs. This Leader of the Opposition, if he was worth anything, would denounce their actions. (Time expired)