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

Twice previously in this chamber I have read out the names of hostages held by the terrorist organisation Hamas. Still, Hamas continues to hold 116 hostages after they began an unprovoked and very nasty conflict to eradicate Jewish people and to dismantle the State of Israel. The Hamas murder and mass kidnapping on 7 October was not simply an attack against the State of Israel; it was an attack on the core values of freedom, democracy and liberty.

Australia as a free and democratic nation must wholeheartedly support Israel's defence of these indispensable values and the right of Israel to exist. It is the hostages who have suffered in the fight for our values of freedom and democracy and for the right of Israel to exist. The story of those kidnapped must not be relegated to the footnotes of history. It is the hostages who have been forced to the front line of Hamas' war. They have witnessed the very worst aspects of war, murder and violence, and the memories will sentence them to a lifetime of torture. The stories that have emerged from the hostage crisis have been nothing short of harrowing. Jewish men, women and children have been beaten with electric cables and have had vital medications, food and clean water withheld. The barbaric killings and persecution of the Jewish people have been a source of pride for the terrorists, leaving many Israelis bereaved and in mourning.

There is a growing international movement calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But there is only one realistic road for long-term peace and security, because there will be no peace for Israel or Gaza or the West Bank or for a two-state solution as long as the terrorist organisation Hamas continues to exist and rule over Gaza and while it continues to imprison innocent Israelis. Hamas must be eradicated, the hostages must be released and we must bring them all home.

Last week, I alluded to the fact that we live in the greatest country on earth, notwithstanding the weak Prime Minister and the hapless Labor government we have. I think perhaps I was too passive in my analysis of the failures of our weak Prime Minister and this hapless, woeful Labor government. Because it is pretty clear upon reflection that this Labor government is the worst in history, if not the worst in the history of really bad Labor governments.

There are many reasons to support my proposition, but I thought I would just highlight the top three. No. 1 is the cost-of-living crisis, which has been taken to new heights as a result of the reckless government spending leading to 'Labor-flation', 'Albo-flation', 'Jim-flation'—take your pick. Whichever one it is, it will hurt you, because, since Labor has come to power, food is up 11 per cent; the cost of health is also up 11 per cent—remember their promise about cheaper medicines; education is up 11 per cent; housing is up 15 per cent; and rent is up 15 per cent. Who can remember the promise, or who can forget the promise, they made 97 times before the last election to cut your power bills by $275? Power bills are up by 22 per cent, only superseded by the cost of gas, which is up by almost 25 per cent. Yet Labor continue to push their reckless and immature renewables as the only answer to Australia's energy needs, when we on this side believe we should use all forms of energy.

We have talked about the cost-of-living, and now let's get to the No. 2 reason why this is the worst Labor government in history—that is, because they are weak on union thugs—the mishandling and the Oscar-nominated performance of the Labor CFMEU saga. Let's take it back to the start. As a thank you for the CFMEU bankrolling Labor's 2022 election campaign—and this bankrolling was worth something along the lines of $6.2 million—one of Labor's first acts in government was to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. This is not the first time they've done it; this is the second time they have done it, because the Labor Party is beholden to the union thugs in the CFMEU—you just have to follow the money trail. By abolishing the ABCC, Labor took away the cop on the beat and the oversight of the CFMEU, giving them a free pass to double down on their criminal behaviour, abuse and thuggery.

Since then, as this crisis began to evolve, Labor acted surprised, mortified and in denial about the CFMEU and its well-reported thuggish behaviour. Labor ministers and Labor members have all come in like a bunch of stunned mullets, surprised about the allegations concerning the CFMEU, and, in a rush of activity, brought some legislation to this parliament that clearly had been written by the CFMEU. It has taken Labor weeks, if not years, if not decades, to stand up and protect the 92 per cent of workers who are not members of a union but also the other 7½ per cent of the workforce who are members of unions, obey the law and get on and do the right thing.

The No. 3 reason this is the worst Labor government ever: Labor are weak on borders and weak on immigration—because, as you guessed it, we've got a weak Prime Minister. This government has continued to duck any accountability for keeping Australians safe in the wake of 83 detainees being released into the community without visas. These included murderers, sex offenders and violent offenders. Instead of learning from these mistakes, I won't say they sacked the minister—they promoted the two ministers sideways and then replaced the immigration minister with the only other person in the Labor Party with a worse history. Under Tony Burke, since 7 October, Australia has recorded the greatest number of visas granted amongst our allies, following the Middle East war. The US has granted 17 visas; the UK, 168 visitors; New Zealand, 153 visas; and Australia, 2,922 visas.

Aside from the astronomical security risk that this presents to our country and its people, there is a growing Labor caused housing crisis and we've got the cost-of-living crisis—I refer you to reason No. 1—and we've got the rise of antisemitic behaviour across this country, which has Australians living in fear and struggling to make ends meet. To top it all off, the Prime Minister, with his back against the wall, has decided to play around with the words of the head of our security service. Mr Albanese selectively quoted the ASIO boss to imply that ASIO has been vetting all of these applicants, when it has not. This is the same Prime Minister who urged that the language of leaders should change immediately, and yet he has failed to change his own and act on others. It is a classic case of, 'Do as I say, not as I do,' and another example of weak leadership. This is the worst Labor government in the history of terrible Labor governments. When Gough Whitlam is starting to look sensible, you're either drunk or you're comparing him to Prime Minister Albanese. In 2024, let's show Labor the door.

S enate adjourned at 20:23