Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Cyber Security. How is the Albanese Labor government fixing the patchwork of policies and poorly implemented cybersecurity measures left behind by the previous government?

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume her seat.

Government members interjecting—

Order! Members on my right! The same rules apply to both sides of the chamber. There will be no interjections whilst a minister is approaching the dispatch box. I will hear from the Manager of Opposition Business.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, you were very clear that ministers could only be asked questions about matters which fall within their current responsibilities. These questions clearly breaches that principle and is out of order.

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I'll hear from the Leader of the House.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the question asks what the government is doing to fix a particular problem. It refers to the previous government in creating that problem, but the question is about the government fixing it, which is entirely the job of the minister and a job that she's doing.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business on a further point of order.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, you were very clear in your statement of the principle yesterday. I'm sure you want to be absolutely consistent in how you apply that principle on both sides of the chamber. The principle is very clear that ministers cannot be asked about matters which occurred before they became a minister. You've stated that principle, and it should be upheld in relation to this question.

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Leader of the House.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, just to the point of order, none of this is complicated from the Manager of Opposition Business. The principle that was dealt with yesterday goes to the actions of a minister before they became minister, and that was what all the points of order yesterday were about. The question today that has just been asked is about the actions a minister is taking now to fix up a mess that was left to this government.

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I want to respond to the Manager of Opposition Business. He raises a point about the principle I was talking about yesterday. I want to be clear for all members regarding Practice, which makes clear what ministers cannot be asked questions about in relation to their actions—and it states this very clearly on page 554—in a former ministerial role or as a private member before becoming a minister. That's also on page 554. This question is about what the government is doing now. The minister is responsible, obviously, for these portfolio responsibilities. I'm going to listen carefully to her response to make sure she's updating the House with her remarks, however she answers it, regarding the policies, but she's obviously able to talk about what the government's responsibilities or her responsibilities are to deal with the relevant issues, as she sees fit. The question is in order, but I'll listen carefully to make sure she is being relevant.

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've got to be honest. I understand why this is such a touchy subject for those opposite. If I had wasted a decade on the benches behind me, then I would feel pretty touchy about it too. What I can tell you is that we have a bunch of ministers sitting here who will be proud of their record after sitting on these benches and proud to have our record examined by the opposition when that time comes. I'll turn to the question at hand.

The member for Werriwa asked a really good question—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wannon is warned.

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and she's very intimately involved in the debate and the discussion about these subjects. Unfortunately, she is right in her description because, when we arrived in office a year ago, we found cybersecurity in an absolute mess. That is a serious problem for our country because anyone involved in this space can tell you that cybersecurity is one of the most important national security challenges we face. We've got a packed public gallery today. It is statistically probable that every person up there or a member of their family has been the victim of a data breach or a cyber attack over previous years. Given how that was left, I can understand why those opposite don't want to have their record questioned. I say particularly to the opposition leader who sits opposite me and who likes to present himself as a bit of a tough guy that we know we had no cybersecurity minister under the previous government. The opposition leader was the home affairs minister for much of their time in government. This national security matter is in a mess, and there is no-one more responsible for that mess than the opposition leader.

This has had real consequences for our country. We had the National Australia Bank tell us a year ago that they are subjected to 50 million cyber attacks a month, and the Australian Taxation Office is subjected to three million cyber attacks a month. So our focus over this last year has been trying to clean up the mess left by those opposite and to set us on a path for doing better as a country. That's why we've set up 'hack the hackers', a task force of Australian Federal Police and Australian Signals Directorate officers—a hundred people who are out there finding people who are seeking to do Australians harm and trying to hack back. We've taken leadership of a global ransomware initiative for the first time. Australia is trying to coordinate the actions of countries around the world who share those same threats. We have declared 82 systems of national significance—things like our electricity grid and the providers of water—to make sure that they are taking their cybersecurity responsibilities seriously. We've begun national cyber exercises for the first time, where industries around this country are coming together to work out how they will cope with these challenges.

This is just what has been done over this previous year, but there is so much more to come. A really important moment for the country on this matter will be the release of the cybersecurity strategy a little later this year. There is huge focus and energy and resolve on this matter for the first time. We're cleaning up the mess left by those opposite, but most importantly, we're making sure that in this internet age we're providing proper safety and security for our constituents.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition has said he wants to indicate to support the minister's remarks. I give him the call on that basis.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

DUTTON (—) (): Mr Speaker, I associate the opposition with the minister's cause in terms of sending a very clear message to those who would seek to commit offences online, against children or against elderly people in particular. This is a very serious topic. It requires an adult response, and it is important that our friends and our adversaries understand that this parliament stands united in the fight against the scourge of criminal activity online. The same rules should apply online as they do in real life. The targets that we see of institutions and systems of national significance are very real, and when we are in government, we put $9.9 billion into the Australian Signals Directorate—I know it's not a great deal of money—we bolstered the funding to the Australian cybersecurity system and we spent more on cybersecurity than any government in the country's history. So we stand united in the fight against those criminals online.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting immediately. The Minister for Cybersecurity will cease interjecting.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're such an amateur.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader will resume her seat for a moment. The Leader of the Opposition just cannot be slamming people across the chamber.

The Minister for Cyber Security will cease interjecting; so will the Leader of the Opposition. Question time is about a level of decorum, and I want that to continue for the remainder of question time today.