Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister update the House on steps the Morrison government is taking to protect Australian children from exploitation and abuse? Is the minister aware of alternative approaches?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have reported to the House before, the government has made it an absolute priority to make sure we can protect Australian children. One of the ways we're doing that is to invest significantly into the Australian Federal Police, and the other agencies within Home Affairs, to work closely with their police colleagues around the states. We have been involved now in a number of operations where a record number of paedophiles have been arrested.

You can imagine the devastation of the police and the investigators, but most importantly the victims, their mums, their dads and their family members, when those offenders go to court and in many cases receive no jail time at all. The government has spoken to a lot of victims' groups and to a lot of individual police officers, about how this work has scarred their lives, in many cases forever, and all of them say to us, 'Please do whatever you can to increase the jail time for those sex offenders'. So the government was shocked last night in the Senate when the Labor Party opposed the bill that we had put in place. When the Labor party went completely back—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

The minister will resume his seat.

Honourable members interjecting—

Members on my right will cease interjecting. The member for Mitchell will cease interjecting. I'm going to call the Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order, and then I'm going to, for the convenience and interest of the House, say a couple of things myself. The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order.

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

A point of order, Mr Speaker, on reflections on members: claiming that members voted in a different way to how they did is both dishonest in the House and disorderly, and the minister should withdraw and should not be allowed to continue with an answer that he knows is not true.

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

On the point of order, this is obviously difficult ground. I've ruled on matters before and made clear what the rules are. I don't expect every member to necessarily remember that, but members need to tread very carefully. The minister on a point of order.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order, Mr Speaker—it goes to the contribution made by the honourable member opposite. The statement that he made was incorrect. The comments he made in relation to me were false, and I would ask you to ask him to withdraw those comments.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Those members behind the Leader of the Opposition are not helping anyone, including their leadership, when they interject like this. I need to deal with what's a very serious matter and all they do is hinder the performance of the House. That's not what they were elected to do. I'm going to say two things to the Manager of Opposition Business and to the Minister for Home Affairs. It is well established that, when it comes to questions and answers, the chair is not in a capacity to judge accuracy. I'd be suspending the House and going and checking on facts and figures all day. That is why personal explanations are allowed at the end of question time. I'm going to say very clearly that there is no tolerance for reflections on members and imputing motives within the Practice. I'm just saying that as a piece of information that is very, very important. So both the Manager of Opposition Business and the minister can have their personal explanations at the end of question time, if they so wish, and we will deal with them then. In the meantime, I'll listen to the minister.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. In the Senate last night, the government sought to introduce legislation which was not supported by the Leader of the Opposition or the Labor Party. That is the truth. We wanted to introduce minimum mandatory sentencing for paedophiles, and those opposite opposed it. They were captured by The Daily Tele today. That's the reality.

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

Order! The minister knows the rules on props.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government are as offended as parents are around the country, because the Leader of the Opposition stood in here last week and said that he would assist us in relation to these matters in any way he could, and yet this week he demonstrates that he will not support us on these very important matters. Labor say that it's a principle issue for them—that they won't support any mandatory sentencing. The fact is that the Labor Party have supported mandatory sentencing in relation to terrorism related offences. They have supported in Victoria mandatory sentencing for people that commit assaults against emergency services workers and they have supported mandatory sentencing in relation to people-smuggling offences as well. So I would just say that the Leader of the Opposition needs to reconsider his position. We are all absolutely committed to seeing the original bill, with its original intent, go back into the Senate and be supported, which the Labor Party did not do last night.

This came yesterday on a day of great shame for the Australian Labor Party, where Mr Orkopoulos was again charged with offences. All I would say is: think of those victims when you make these dreadful decisions. (Time expired)

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr Dutton interjecting—

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

The minister will cease interjecting.