Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister update the House on the importance of a strong and consistent approach to the national security agenda, and how does this compare to alternative approaches?

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

I thank the member for Robertson for her question. It's a pity that when she was asking the question the Leader of the Opposition said, 'Oh, dear, let's talk about this,' and he turned around with a piece of paper, which I think is blank, and is pretending now to have a conversation with the shadow Treasurer and the member for Sydney, because, I suspect, he doesn't want to hear about this particular topic. The Australian public now understands that the Leader of the Opposition says one thing to an audience in one part of the country, because he thinks that's what they want to hear, but when he jumps on the plane he feels that he's cleansed himself and he travels north, normally to Queensland, where he says the complete opposite to that which he's just said in the south of the country. It's hard to keep up with the positions of the Leader of the Opposition, and the Australian public get that this guy is duplicitous at best. He has doublecrossed every colleague he has ever shaken hands with. He has worked for and against union bosses. You don't become the chief union boss of this country without skeletons in the closet, and this fellow has plenty of them.

When it comes to border protection, we know that the Leader of the Opposition is down in Victoria, in the inner-city seat of Batman, where there's a by-election and where the Labor Party fears that the Greens will win that seat from the Labor Party, telling them that the Labor Party will go soft on border protection.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Wills and the member for Lalor.

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

He's saying that they'll bring people here from offshore detention centres, that they won't be turning back boats where it's safe to do so. They will abandon the policy that has stopped people drowning at sea.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Wills will leave the chamber under 94(a).

The member for Wills then left the chamber.

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

You can imagine why it confuses people in seats like Longman, Petrie, Dickson and Brisbane in the state of Queensland, because there are many people, not just in Queensland but across the country, who support wholeheartedly the work we're doing in keeping our borders safe. If you can't keep your border secure, you cannot provide for a safe community.

In addition to that, over the course of the last period we've cancelled 3,300 visas of noncitizens who have committed criminal offences against Australian citizens, including 170 visas of outlaw motorcycle gang members. We have cancelled more visas of criminals in the last 12 months than Labor cancelled throughout their entire two terms in government.

If you're sitting in Longman or elsewhere in marginal seats around the country and you're confused by this Leader of the Opposition, fair enough. But know this: if you wonder what the difference is between the Liberal Party and the Labor Party, know that the Labor Party are always soft when it comes to border protection and they are soft on law and order. They demonstrate it every day in their opposition to the plans that we've implemented successfully. We will keep Australians safe.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The minister will resume his seat. The member for Isaacs is very loud. He not only disturbs me, when listening to the answer; he disturbs those around him. I call the member for Werriwa.