Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the shadow Minister for Justice for giving me an opportunity to go through again the record investment in the Australian Federal Police we announced yesterday—the largest single investment in our domestic capability since the Howard government. I am very happy to go through the record of this side of the House compared to the shameful record of Labor when they were in office. They constantly returned to slashing our national security community, budget after budget.

Let me go through it; I am very happy to go through it again. There is $1½ billion to enhance our counterterrorism capability, funding agencies such as the Australian Federal Police, our intelligence community and the other agencies that make up our law enforcement community. There is $128 million for the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce. This goes after people perpetrating serious fraud against the Commonwealth and involving themselves in complex foreign bribery cases overseas. There is $116 million for the National Anti-Gangs Squad, which sends the Australian Federal Police out to sit side by side with their state and territory policing colleagues in a way that has never been done by any government in Australian history. There is $25 million to expand the AFP's National Forensics Rapid Lab. This gives them the ability to detect large drug importations coming into the country. There is $21 million to extend the trade union royal commission task force, going after corrupt union officials. There is $15 million to support the Fraud and Anti-Corruption Centre. There is $180 million to give Australian Federal Police officers the personal physical protection they need in an environment where they are targets for terrorists.

Again, I am happy to contrast our record with the record of the Labor Party when they were in government. Labor's cuts to federal law enforcement left Australians vulnerable. That is why we saw things like the importation of 220 Glock pistols.

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