Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

If the government had their house in order, this would have been done weeks ago. It would have been ready weeks ago, been done weeks ago and been able to pass this parliament. If they'd had the House sitting this week, it could have at least been done days ago in terms of passing through.

The government has stood in here today—Senator Wong is saying, 'Why isn't the opposition supporting this?' Well, when the government finally, belatedly, was dragged kicking and screaming to the point of proposing a preventive detention regime, it was already at the point where it couldn't pass the parliament before the House came back for its normal business on Thursday of this week. But if the government wants to come in here and taunt us and say, 'Bring it on,' we're ready. Bring it on. We are ready to do so.

Most importantly, if the government had competent ministers, this would have been done before detainees were released, because that is the real crime of the way the Albanese government has handled this matter. The real crime of the Albanese government's handling of this matter is that detainees—murderers, rapists, paedophiles—were released before preventive orders were put in place and before measures to protect Australians from harm were put in place. That is the real crime of what has occurred. In failure upon failure from the Albanese government, they have stumbled at every turn in relation to this matter. They stumbled, it seems, in relation to the case they put before the High Court. They talked out of both sides of their mouth before the court, with the Human Rights Commission arguing one thing, having been approved to enter the court by the Attorney-General, whilst the government put an alternative proposition to the High Court. They presented evidence to the court suggesting that the individual subject of the case could not be deported, yet it appears the government may have had contrary advice to that, therefore providing evidence, a statement of fact, that undermined their very own case.

So they mismanaged the case itself, but then they weren't even prepared for any of the consequences of the case. Where were the contingency plans from the Albanese government? There were none because, clearly, Minister Giles and Minister O'Neil are completely incapable of managing their portfolios or of thinking ahead. It is incompetence that does not warrant the holding of ministerial office. These ministers should go. They should go because not only have they let the government down and caused immense political pain for the government; more particularly, they have exposed the Australian people to danger, to harm. This is the exposure that is the real risk and danger for the Australian people as a result of the Albanese government's mismanagement.

Think through the different steps of mismanagement we have seen. Those of us who are in this chamber—