Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Will the minister update the House on the Morrison government's actions to protect women and children from foreign criminals and is the minister aware of any alternative policy approaches or views?

Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Groom for his question, and I commend his genuine concern about the safety of women and his advocacy for protecting women and children at law. The Morrison government has, of course, had a bill in front of this House for approaching 1,200 days—before the Leader of the Opposition, before the Labor Party and before the Australian Greens—to strengthen the character test and enable the government to deport more foreign criminals from Australia who commit serious crimes against women and against children, and family and domestic violence. So while the Leader of the Opposition has time to go back and look up his school homework, I would ask him to do his homework on this bill. If he did his homework on this bill he would know that these reforms will allow us to deal more swiftly and more quickly when serious crime occurs, thereby preventing more family violence and domestic violence against women and children in Australia. It begs the question: why would the Labor Party oppose for 1,200 days a bill that says the government should be allowed to deport foreign convicted criminals for serious offences? This would have to be one of the things you've opposed the longest and the most in the Labor Party's history, you feel so passionately about it.

I say to the opposition and the Australian community: the Morrison government will not back down from our view that the law needs further reform to deport more foreign criminals and stop them in their tracks when they commit these serious crimes against women and against children in Australia. It's an important issue.

To hear the heckling from the Leader of the Opposition, I have to say: who does he take his instructions from on this issue? We know he is in lockstep with his partners, the Greens. The Greens are the ones who really oppose this bill, and they have dragged the Labor Party and the Leader of the Opposition to this position. Why would the Labor Party continue to oppose this? It's all because of the Leader of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition isn't taking an each-way bet on this; he's taking the multi on this. He's on every single position in relation to the deportation of foreign criminals. I say that's not good enough and this government says it's not good enough. If we have to put this bill for another 1,000 days, we will. We believe passionately that the law is important and the construction of the law—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition, on a point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister began answering the question, but now he's going off on all sorts of tangents. He knows that he has the power now, which is why he got rid of Novak Djokovic. That's exactly how it happened.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is your point of order relevance?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There have been a number of matters that have been going on in the chamber that have distracted me, so I'm not going to ask the minister to return to the question because I wasn't sure if he was straying from the question. The minister has the call.

An honourable member interject ing—

Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take that interjection and I take that point of order from the Leader of the Opposition: it should not be easier to deport an international tennis star than the government finds it to deport a criminal who has raped a woman. It should not be, and that's why we seek these powers. On the question of deportation of foreign criminals, it is the Leader of the Opposition who fails the character test.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

He gets to decide that, not you!

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition can raise something with me later on. The Prime Minister has the call.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.