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

Notwithstanding our weak Prime Minister and this woeful Labor government, we do live in the greatest country on earth and we are privileged to have a strong democratic system. However, not everywhere is as privileged. Recently we've seen massive electoral fraud come out of last month's Venezuelan presidential election. As a senator for Queensland I have been contacted by many members of the Venezuelan community who are deeply distressed at the steal of that presidential election. It was clear that the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzales, had won the election after having gathered more than 83 per cent of the voting tallies, showing that he'd actually won 67 per cent of the vote; and that the dictator Maduro had won just 30 per cent of the vote, contrary to the 51.21 per cent reported by Maduro and his government. Gonzales and his team anticipated an election steal months before the country went to a vote, and it is the brilliant planning and scrutineering by Gonzales and the opposition activists that has brought this electoral corruption to light for all the world to see.

Venezuela was one of the richest countries in the world, due to its oil resources, but under the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela is now one of the poorest countries in the world, with over nine million Venezuelans living in exile. I stand with my coalition colleagues, domestic and international independent observers and all Australians in sharing concerns at these unsettling findings concerning electoral fraud. The coalition stands with the people of Venezuela, who are peacefully exercising their democratic right to vote, which is fundamental to any liberal democracy.

Maduro is a corrupt dictator who has stolen the election while his socialist cronies rob the country. We urge the authorities in Venezuela to publish detailed electoral results for all polling stations, in the interests of transparency and accountability.

Madam Acting Deputy President, Queensland under Labor is becoming one giant crime scene. From the cape to the border, everyday Queenslanders are experiencing crime, whether it's 55 cars a day being stolen under Labor or what we saw in just the last few days in Drayton, a community on the Darling Downs just up the road from where I live. Two 15-year-olds and a 17-year-old desecrated over 300 graves. It was an estimated half a million dollars worth of damage. It's going to take the local community and the local council months to fix the damage caused by these vandals. Yet, under Labor, how were these vandals treated? There was no court appearance, there was no community service; there was just a caution, a slap on the wrist with a bit of wet lettuce. This is what is happening in Queensland. Everybody is becoming a victim of crime, whether they are alive or dead, because of the softness of the Labor Party on the perpetrators of criminal acts.

It is the policy of the Liberal National Party that if you commit an adult crime you will do adult time. In this instance, the community of Drayton and the community of the Darling Downs would want the book thrown at these three vandals. It is so wrong that, under Labor in Queensland, those who vandalise a site as sacred as a cemetery get only a slap on the wrist. This should send a message to all of us that in 73 days time Queensland has the choice of voting for the Labor Party, who will let the criminals roam free, or voting for the Liberal National Party, who will put them in jail and make sure that the victims are put first, not the criminals. (Time expired)