James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I want to read out Senator Scarr's matter of public urgency to remind those who are listening of the details:

The need for Prime Minister Albanese to restore Operation Sovereign Borders to its original design under the former Coalition government, including re-introducing temporary protection visas, to send a clear message to people smugglers that Australia takes the protection of its borders seriously

Since Prime Minister Albanese came to power, there have been at least 311 illegal maritime arrivals in Australia, who have come on at least 13 boats. At least 40 came in the last few days, reaching the mainland of Australia undetected. It shows that the people smugglers are exploiting the weakness of the Albanese government when it comes to protecting the borders of Australia. The No. 1 job of any government is to protect Australia, to protect our borders and to protect our people. When the Prime Minister is asked on live TV what he's going to do to prevent illegal immigration or how he could possibly justify his dismantling of Operation Sovereign Borders—or when he was asked about this most recent arrival, do you know what the Prime Minister said? This is what the Prime Minister of this country said. He said he is not across it because he has been in the car. What has he been doing in the car? Having a nap? Playing Grand Theft Auto?

This is a Prime Minister who has tens of thousands of public servants—departments of defence and home affairs—who clearly report in as to what is happening on our borders. Now, either they're not being resourced properly or he's not being told what's going on—or he doesn't care. So, it is either incompetence or malfeasance, or it's just a Prime Minister who's not up to the job.

People smugglers can smell weak leadership. We saw that in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government. We saw how the people smugglers exploited that weak Labor government. And we can see now how the people smugglers are exploiting this weak Labor government. It is time for someone like Peter Dutton, an ex-copper from Queensland, to become prime minister—someone who understands the importance of the safety of Australians, someone who understands, who will bring back Operation Sovereign Borders and protect Australia and make sure we can sleep safely in our beds at night. (Time expired)