Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Paterson. The assurance I can give all Australians is that the Albanese government relies on the advice of our national security agencies in making decisions like this, in making decisions about visas that are granted, respecting our national security agencies and the advice that they provide, rather than trying to play politics with national security matters, which is something that, let's face it, Mr Dutton has done his entire political career. He only has one trick, and that is to whip up fear based on national security matters, whether they're right or whether they're wrong. He thinks nothing of using our national security agencies and their personnel as political pawns in his game. We, on the other hand, actually respect our national security agencies. We have confidence in them to make the right decisions and provide the right advice. Coming into the chamber before running into the Sky News studio, which you'll all be racing to do straight after question time is over—that's what the priority for the opposition is, rather than actually treating national security agencies seriously. For a man who says that he treats national security seriously, I'm surprised by Senator Paterson. (Time expired)