Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Hansard source

It's just extraordinary—absolutely extraordinary—that the Albanese Labor government, which is presiding over this debacle in terms of immigration in our country, blames us, the opposition, as if we're to blame. It's the Albanese Labor government that is responsible for this immigration debacle, the lack of control of our borders, not the opposition. It's also extraordinary that the Albanese Labor government should say to us, the opposition, 'You shouldn't be talking about this. You'll just make it worse, to talk about it.' Well, sorry; that's the job of an opposition—to keep the government to account. That is our job. That's the job that the people of Australia sent each and every one of us sitting on this side of the chamber here to do. That's the job we'll continue to do every day up to the next federal election—keeping the Albanese Labor government responsible and accountable for its failure in this space. It is an abject policy failure in relation to our immigration policies and controlling our borders.

Let's go through the issues. What have we seen? We saw the total mismanagement of the NZYQ case itself, an absolute total mismanagement of that case. Then we saw abject failure to prepare for the outcome of that case. Then we saw the incompetent response when the decision was handed down and how 149 dangerous noncitizen detainees were released into our community without adequate preparation. I've quoted in this place the views of a victim of rape when she heard that her convicted rapist was one of the cohort of 149 released into the Australian community. I've quoted her views, her dismay, with respect to the absolute failure of the Albanese Labor government to manage this policy space competently. What else have we seen? Undetected boat arrivals, which Senator Roberts referred to. This isn't Senator Scarr saying this; there's an article from the ABC on 21 February 2024, 'Backstory of a boat arrival and the bizarre day when 39 foreigners landed in a bush community'. That's the ABC reporting on 21 February 2024. Those opposite in the Albanese Labor government talk about misinformation, but what about this story, 'Backstory of a boat arrival and the bizarre day when 39 foreigners landed in a bush community'? Those opposite would prefer we not speak about it. Well, we will speak about it, and we'll speak about it every day until the next federal election because the Australian people have a right to know.

I want to quote from this ABC article:

No vessel has been found, creating further embarrassment for authorities. It's believed the boat skipper did what locals refer to as a 'splash and dash', dropping the men off and sailing back to Indonesia undetected.

That's from an ABC article. This is what is happening in this country. This is what happens when you get the policy settings wrong. I don't blame the wonderful people of Australian Border Force or the Australian Federal Police. This is of the government's making. They got the policy settings wrong, and now they are reaping what they sowed by getting those policy settings wrong.

And there's more. It's never-ending, this nightmare. What do we see? There is an article from Geoff Chambers in the Australian on 16 March that says:

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil has conceded the government has lost control of key aspects of Australia's migration laws …

The minister herself concedes the government has lost control. I'm sorry, Minister, but, if the government is unable to control our borders under your leadership, maybe you should resign and give someone else a go. Maybe that's the honourable thing for the minister to do. I quote further from the article:

In response to what the government describes as an "unsettled and evolving legal environment", the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Government Solicitor's office have hired almost 50 lawyers in addition to established legal teams.

This is what is happening under the Albanese Labor government: absolute, abject failure to confidently manage one of the most important portfolios needed to protect Australian communities and Australian citizens. It's an absolute abject failure and incompetence, and we will talk about it every day until the next election.