Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

I want to ask the Attorney about ASIO. I note that ASIO received a funding cut in real terms in this budget, but I specifically want to turn his attention to the $6.9 million that was slashed from ASIO for security checks on asylum seekers. I want to find out whether those checks will subsequently be outsourced to another agency or will to continue to be conducted by ASIO. What kind of risk based assessments will be made to determine whether a security check is undertaken or whether everybody will receive a security check—and, when I say 'everybody', I mean on an individual basis? And, if that is the case, how many security checks will this equate to? Will ASIO continue to conduct these security checks on an individual basis, or will they look at moving to a model where the security checks are conducted on a regional basis, so that they will just be able to say, 'We've got a dozen people from Helmand Province, and this is the security assessment that we think is appropriate for people coming from that particular province,' as opposed to looking at them all on an individual basis?

Again, I would just note that it is a relatively brief question and if the Attorney could get straight to the point of what I have asked him I would appreciate that.

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