Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I indicate that I am not the minister closing the debate on the Migration Amendment (Bridging Visa Conditions) Bill 2023. I will just make a short contribution, but Minister Watt is handling this debate. I want to just make this point: Mr Dutton has a decision to make today. His decision is either to play politics, which is what that contribution was about, or to help the Senate and the government make our community safer. That's the decision.

The first test of that, colleagues, is whether or not the opposition will provide the amendments that they are proposing. That's the first test. I note that they've been out there talking about these amendments. We want to talk to them about these amendments to see if we can work through them and ensure that we pass this legislation quickly. We still haven't seen them, and we invite you to provide those amendments. I know that the Acting Prime Minister has written to Mr Dutton. So that's the first test: are they actually going to provide them so that we can work through them together?

As I said, Mr Dutton faces a choice today: is he going to work with the government to keep the community safe, or is he going to stand in the way of swift action because he wants to play more politics with this? It shouldn't be a difficult choice, should it? The government has introduced urgent legislation to strengthen these restrictions and impose criminal penalties which are needed to keep Australians safe.

I note that Senator Paterson has left the chamber, and I don't criticise that—he's not required to stay—but I did note this morning a contradiction between him and Mr Tehan. Mr Tehan said the government had to get a move on to get legislation through, but Senator Paterson said we were in no rush. Well, we are committed to getting this legislation through as soon as is possible, and we invite the opposition to assist with that instead of doing what they so often do on this front, which is to play politics in an attempt to try and suggest that they're the only people who care about national security, which is untrue. They are actually prepared to delay making Australians safer as a consequence. So that's the decision the opposition have to make.

I'll make one final point. We argued against the decision the High Court has made. In the chamber on Monday, when I was being critical of Mr Dutton having set up a scheme that was unconstitutional, Senator Paterson said: 'Give us a break. It's a 20-year precedent.' That's true; it is. The High Court overturned a 20-year precedent. That's the High Court's right. The government argued against it, but the High Court has decided. Those opposite have attempted to suggest that the government somehow has a choice around complying with the High Court decision. Senator Cash is a lawyer. She knows that that choice is not open to any government. She knows that. Any attempt to suggest otherwise, which has been the way in which some of this debate has proceeded in question time, is really another demonstration of their willingness to say and do anything for political purposes.

But we are here today with a bill before us that will make Australians safer. I appreciate that Senator McKim is going to speak, and I'm sure he's not going to be happy with it, but this is a bill that will make Australians safe. Senator Cash, I invite you to provide us with your amendments. Work with us to get this bill through as quickly as is practicable. Don't delay it. Give us the amendments, and we will work through them with the opposition. That is the public invitation from the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Acting Prime Minister to the opposition. Don't play politics. Give us the amendments. Let's get this through as quickly as we can.