Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister outline how the government is working with Australia's diverse communities to ensure the security of all Australians? Why is strong leadership across all—I repeat: all—sections of our community so very important?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Reid for his question. But, more importantly, I thank the member for Reid for the strong leadership he is showing in his community at present and assisting his constituents who are dealing with very difficult issues at this present time, and he is providing that leadership. There are many engagements that are being undertaken by the government to engage with communities regarding the various measures that are being introduced, and they are of both a formal and an informal nature. I referred in the House yesterday to the engagements being undertaken by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and my own department with the National Imams Council and the Grand Mufti and the Attorney-General and the Minister for Justice and law enforcement agencies, who are doing all these things. It is about creating an open dialogue. It is about adding to understanding. It is not a transactional discussion that is seeking to have people sign up. It is about creating the space for communities to work together with government and with their own communities directly to ensure that we can move forward at this very difficult time.

This is important, but what is more important is the community leadership that is required—not just from this place, not just from the government, not just from those who sit in this place but from communities right across the country, from all ethnicities, from all faiths, from all nationalities, and leadership from the media as well—to ensure that we focus on what is uniting us and the Australian values we share and not seek to amplify the divisions or to amplify the grievances that may exist at any one particular time. In this place today I particularly want to acknowledge and affirm the strong community leadership provided by Dr Jamal Rifi and Mr Mamdouh Elomar, well known to members on both sides of this House. They are brave and courageous men who are standing up as strong and passionate Australians. Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to join Jamal and Mamdouh in Lakemba at a community barbecue proclaiming their passion for this wonderful nation. Person after person came up to me, from young children to older people to mothers and others, just expressing their passion for this country and the support for having a cohesive society at this time. With people like Jamal and Mamdouh, let's not forget that Mamdouh's brother and son have both become those who have fallen into the terrorists' snare and have advocated those horrible things. Mamdouh, in his own family, has had to stand up to that. That takes enormous courage and sacrifice. Jamal has done exactly the same in his community. We need to affirm these leaders, and people from across the country in the media from other faiths, religions and communities. We need to stand with them.