Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

They say that a country that doesn't prioritise national security does so at its own peril. Of course, nothing could be further from that truth than this government. In the previous parliament under the so-called stewardship of the then attorney-general, this government gutted Home Affairs because this government does not believe in national security. That much is very, very clear. In the last parliament, I had the privilege of being the Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, a very important committee. Some—I'd be one of them—would say that's the most important committee in this place. Why? It is because it deals with the national security of our nation. But, when we look at the internal factional tug of war that went on in the last Albanese government, we saw, as I said, Home Affairs being gutted in some sort of institutional power grab by the then attorney-general. We saw that this absolutely failed. I was watching this train wreck unfold.

When we were in government, when there was an organisation that was going to be considered for listing as a terrorist organisation, that was done in a matter of a few short days. Under this lot, under Labor, because of the gutting of the Department of Home Affairs that they did, we saw information ping-ponging between the Attorney-General and the Minister for Home Affairs. Information went missing or information wasn't being attended to by various ministers, and it was taking up to 60 days to list an organisation as a terrorist organisation. When we were in government, we would do it in two or three. Results speak for themselves, and a government that does not prioritise national security puts 27 million Australians at risk.

I know, having served on that committee, just how disinterested this government is in relation to national security. I'll give you another example. In the last parliament, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security was not formed for weeks after the parliament recommenced; weeks and weeks went by. I hope that is not repeated in this parliament. It has been three months since this government won power, again. We're in our second week of sitting, so I'll give them some leeway, but let's wait and see how long it takes this government to prioritise the formation of the most important committee in this place. Bear in mind, it's the Prime Minister that chooses who sits on that committee—in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. So, Prime Minister, get your skates on. We need to ensure that the PJCIS is formed as quickly as possible.

In the last parliament, we saw instance after instance of this government failing to prioritise the national security of Australians. We saw the NZYQ case. We saw the circumnavigation of Australia by the People's Liberation Army Navy. But apparently it's all fine; there's nothing to see here! We continue to see mixed messages by this government. I don't know whether the Minister for Defence actually talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, but the defence minister acknowledges that we're in the most geopolitically unstable period since 1945. But apparently there's nothing to see here because we're all friends with the CCP again! We'd all like to spend six days in China like the Prime Minister just did.

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