George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator McKim, of course we know that Australians travel all the time—and of course our hearts go out to Emma Parkinson and her family and friends. There is a risk that Australians travelling abroad are exposed to terrorist crime, and we saw that in the case of Ms Parkinson. But the point I am making to you, Senator McKim—and I will try to make it in very temperate language—is that the people of whom you speak, on your thesis, are people who have a propensity or indeed an intention to commit further terrorist crimes. The Australian community is less likely to be at peril from such people if they are thrown out of Australia and placed into the hands of foreign governments. We would mitigate the risk to Australians if a person who has already demonstrated a propensity to commit serious terrorist crime and, on your thesis, intends to commit another serious terrorist crime is expelled from Australia rather than set free to walk unconstrained on our streets.

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