Ian Goodenough (Moore, 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 the benefits of a well-managed national security agenda? Why are strong and consistent border protection policies important to securing our nation, and is the minister aware of any other approaches?

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

I'll tell you one thing the Labor Party doesn't like talking about—that is border protection policy. Why would that be? It could be because when John Howard left office in 2007 there were four people in detention, including no children. It could be because this Leader of the Opposition sat around the cabinet table pretending to be loyal firstly to Kevin Rudd, pretending to be loyal secondly to Julia Gillard, and they undid those policies. What happened? The Labor party should listen to this, because this is a very important lesson: 1,200 people drowned at sea. Thousands of children went into detention. They opened 17 detention centres. The fact is that, if they got back into government, they would do it all over again. That is the reality.

If the Labor Party wants to speak about fitness for office, let's have a look at the credentials of the Leader of the Opposition. Would he have the capacity, unlike his predecessors in Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, to lead this country in relation to national security and border protection? Of course he wouldn't. He's demonstrated that he's been at the centre of every dodgy deal whenever he's been in a position of leadership, whether it's in the union movement or as leader of the Labor Party in this place. The fact is that this Leader of the Opposition has taken money from businesses. He's donated money to progressive organisations. Sadly, the paperwork around it has been lost. His memory doesn't allow for the recall to provide the details to the AEC. He has been at the centre of every dodgy deal going. That's the reality of this Leader of the Opposition. If the Australian public want to ask themselves, 'Is this man credible to be leader of this country?' the answer is, simply no, without any doubt. If he were Leader of the Opposition again in the next parliament or if he were Prime Minister in the next parliament, it wouldn't matter, because he cannot contain those members behind him who are completely opposed to this government's strong stance on border protection and national security.

Over the last few weeks, I'll tell you what's been the most important issue to the Australian public—that has been keeping them safe. I applaud the work of the Australian Federal Police and ASIO.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Those opposite can scoff, but the fact is that agencies of this Commonwealth, led by this Prime Minister, have stopped a major terrorist attack which would have resulted in hundreds of people dying in this country. Those people opposite can scoff, but the reality is that when they were in government—and as this Leader of the Opposition now demonstrates on a daily basis—they did not have the credibility or ability to lead this country.