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

My question is to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The Prime Minister promised Australians before the last election that the government's first job is to keep people safe; however, the Albanese government has released at least 149 hard-core criminals from immigration detention, including seven murderers and 37 sex offenders. Why has the minister failed to apply for an order to re-detain a single one of these killers or sex offenders?

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

The member for Spence is warned.

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question and I refer him to the answer I gave in the last sitting week in which I said those applications, I can assure the House, are underway, noting the concerns that have been expressed, including by the member for Wannon, about the high threshold that is required to succeed in such an application. Our top priority is keeping the community safe and, unlike those opposite, we have confidence in the capacity of our law enforcement agencies to do so. We also recognise it is in no-one's interest to put in place an application that does not succeed. Rushed applications make no-one safer.

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! Members on my left and right will cease interjecting. When the House comes to order I will hear from the member for Gilmore.