Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

They may wish to listen, because I'm going to address the members' points. At no time as Prime Minister have I ever opposed what they are proposing. As Prime Minister, I have not. I have kept an open mind on this question. When this question was put to me, we were considering the issue of a royal commission into aged care. That was the priority I established, as Prime Minister, to move on. But I have not resolved not to do this. I have been considering this matter. My priority has been to deal with the royal commission into aged care, which is now underway. I am yet to see a terms of reference from the opposition, I must say, on this matter. They have had a policy for two years and yet no terms of reference. I suggest that one should have been produced, and I would have happily looked at one that was produced.

My point is very simple: this matter will be considered by the House. The government will consider this in all seriousness, as it should. These are serious issues. In the past, the government, in responding to Senate committees and numerous other reports, has taken the position that the National Disability Insurance Scheme is a scheme that is still being built. It is not yet built. To have a royal commission into a system that is effectively still being built—one would question the wisdom of that at this time. That said, that does not in any way, shape or form turn away from or fail to acknowledge the very serious issues of abuse that we know occur.

I am asking the opposition to continue to engage. I and my government will continue to engage on this issue. There are many ways that the issues that have been raised about abuse can be addressed, even, potentially, within the existing royal commission that we have established. But I will not let us leave this place with some suggestion that the government does not take these issues seriously. What we have done in government is act on royal commissions. The opposition, in the past, when they were in government, did not call a royal commission into this issue. They did not call a royal commission into the banks. They did not call a royal commission into aged care. On the latter points, we have done both and we are acting on both. We are acting on all 76 recommendations of the banking royal commission just concluded, and the royal commission into aged care is underway. On this further issue, we are open to considering how it can be best progressed. We have been taking action on these issues specifically through the commission that has been established, through the NDIS, to have the powers to examine and to provide remedies where these cases come up.

There is another part of the motion that has been put by the Leader of the Opposition, and it bells the cat as to the motive behind the opposition's actions this afternoon. I'm not afraid of losing votes in this House; I lost one on Tuesday! But I'll tell you who the losers were—the Australian people. The Australian people saw the weakness of a Leader of the Opposition who is more interested in the politics of this Canberra bubble than the border protection of our nation. I was prepared to come in here and face down the loss of that vote, because I have the courage of my convictions when it comes to border protection. The Leader of the Opposition cannot hold a candle to my convictions when it comes to protecting the security of this nation. So vote against us, if you like. Try and turn the tables on border protection, if you like. There is no middle ground between the Labor Party and the Liberal and National parties on border protection. There is a wide and huge chasm. There is no middle ground between us—

Debate interrupted.

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