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

Well, there were answers given. They might not have been the answers that you were hoping for, but accurate answers were provided. I went to the trouble of getting a transcript of Minister Burke's answers. I'm surprised that you didn't bother to do the same yourself. I'm very happy to repeat the comments that Minister Burke made. They were that we are working closely with our security agencies on this matter, as people would expect. Everyone from Gaza granted a visa since 7 October has been checked by our security agencies. That is the answer to the question. Every single person has been checked by our security agencies.

I think the disturbing thing that we continue to see from the opposition is a complete lack of faith in our security agencies. We have seen that over and over again. It's very concerning to see this creeping authoritarianism within the opposition. Last week we had the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Dutton, and other frontbenchers demanding that state police go and arrest certain people. This week we've got the opposition trying to direct the security agencies as to what they should do. That's a little shadow. It's a little insight into the kind of operation we would have under a Dutton government if, God forbid, we ever had a Dutton government. What we know about Mr Dutton is that he has no limits. There are no limits to the authoritarian action that he will take. You will not get a member of the Albanese government directing the security agencies in the way that Mr Dutton seeks to do and Senator Paterson seems to seek to do. You won't get members of the Albanese government directing state police to go and arrest people, because there's this quaint old notion called 'the separation of powers'. I know it's something the Queensland National Party was never able to understand, but it seems the Liberal Party doesn't understand it either.