Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

Labor are proud of our record on national security. In government, between 2007 and 2013, Labor increased funding for national security and public safety by hundreds of millions of dollars in real terms. Regrettably, the government's claim expressed in this motion that they have given greater funding to law enforcement does not bear close scrutiny. The Australian Federal Police, in particular, have been forced to cope with budget cuts while having to provide increased counterterrorism and security activities. In response to Labor's senators questions on notice on police resources from earlier this year, the Australian Federal Police responded that they 'did not receive any portion of the $1.2 billion national security funding announced in the 2015-16 budget'. Further, the Australian Federal Police responded that their 'capacity to respond to increased volumes of activities and threat means that resources are stretched'. Yes, the government has increased the legislative powers of law enforcement and security agencies, with Labor's bipartisan support, but there remains resourcing issues that must be acknowledged.

Labor will support measures to increase national security to ensure that our community is safe. We have at all times since September 2013 aimed to work with the government in a bipartisan manner on important issues of security and defence. However, that does not mean that Labor will write a blank cheque for the government on this or any other matter. As a responsible opposition, Labor will continue to work with the government to strike the right balance between improving community safety and protecting human rights, privacy and the freedoms of all Australians. Throughout the term of the Abbott-Turnbull government, Labor have worked in a constructive manner, particularly through the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, to ensure all proposed national security legislation is fit for purpose. We have helped to enact over 100 substantive amendments to the national security bills that have been put forward over the past three years. Labor worked with the government to not only pass but improve the citizenship bill, the data retention bill and the foreign fighters bill. Labor members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security pushed for a number of amendments to the recently enacted Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2016. We have most recently sought and agreed with government members of the intelligence committee on recommendations to improve the Criminal Code Amendment (High Risk Terrorist Offenders) Bill 2016 and to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.

Labor believes that these bills require expert consideration and advice to ensure that they strike an appropriate balance between keeping a community safe and protecting people's rights. The report on the Criminal Code Amendment (High Risk Terrorist Offenders) Bill 2016, which was tabled on 4 November this year, recommends that the government obtain legal advice from the Solicitor-General on the constitutional validity of the final version of the high risk terrorist offenders bill before it is further debated in parliament. We understand that terrorist groups like ISIL threaten liberal democratic values and seek to harm our friends and allies around the world. People are particularly concerned about Australian citizens fighting with overseas terrorist and insurgent groups and different forms of homegrown terrorism. Around 110 Australians are reportedly fighting or engaged in some way with terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria.

Despite the increased economic ties between nations that globalisation has delivered, there are still a significant number of conflicts and tensions in the world right now. There is, of course, a wide diversity in the challenges set by different conflicts around the world: wars in Syria and Iraq continue; there are on-and-off conflicts in parts of Turkey; Libya and Yemen still simmer; and countries including Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon face a developing threat from Boko Haram—all of which create their own global and regional issues and challenges. Labor is ready and willing to meet these challenges, whether they be challenges caused by threats to the sovereignty and stability of democratically elected governments or challenges caused by changes in migratory patterns or territorial groups. I repeat: Labor stands ready to adopt a bipartisan position with the government on necessary changes to our national security legislation framework. This does not mean that we will agree with the government on every single bill or every single aspect of every bill that the government presents, but does mean a very constructive attitude, which we have demonstrated at all times. (Time expired)

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