Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Right, there you go. What we should do is maybe ask the Australian people what they think. What do the Australian people think about what has happened over the course of the last months? What did the Australian people think about the fact that about 140 hardened criminals—a contract killer, child rapists, murderers, sex offenders and paedophiles—had been released into the community?

Then we were accused of fear-mongering. And then, in the weeks since they were released, three of them have been charged already.

The Australian public are the human face of this public policy failure. I wonder if they think there should be an apology. I reckon they'd probably say, 'Yes, there needs to be an apology.' I wonder if the people who have been subjected to those alleged offences think there should be an apology. I reckon they'd think there probably should be an apology. Yet all we've seen today from the government is ridiculous excuses for their incompetence.

Let me tell you: I don't need crayons to understand the Australian Constitution. I give my respects to the late Professor Lumb, who taught me constitutional law about 32 years ago.

The fact of the matter is: if you look at the High Court case that was brought down, back in March, the Australian government and the lawyers acting for the individual—the convicted child rapist—agreed a set of facts that said that there was no reasonable prospect of this individual being deported anywhere; they agreed that, back in March. That is when the red flag went up. That is when all of the legislation that has been passed or will be passed over the course of the month following that judgement should have come to this chamber—five or six months ago, before the people were released, not a month later. The horse has bolted. And the gate was left open by the Albanese Labor government. The action should have been taken months ago.

We've shown how quickly we can move when we need, as a chamber, to protect the Australian people. The biggest apology due—the apology that should be granted by the Albanese Labor government—is for their failure to act in that period between March and when the decision was brought down. When the red flag went up—that was the time for action, and that was the period in time when the Albanese Labor government failed to act. That is why they should apologise to the people of Australia for their incompetence and failure to act. This High Court judgement didn't come out of nowhere. The red flag had gone up in March. And that is when the Labor Albanese government should have acted.

Question agreed to.