Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. I refer to the minister's previous answer. Why did the minister, in referring to the former Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, fail to refer to his comments yesterday that it was 'constitutionally unthinkable' to revoke a person's citizenship without a conviction and that he 'never dreamed it would be possible'?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. I do not know how you could read into this recommendation those words. I can read directly from the report. I can read the honourable Mr Walker's own words to you. He says:

… for the Minister for Immigration to revoke the citizenship of Australians—

'where they are not rendered stateless', to paraphrase him—

… where the Minister is satisfied that the person has engaged in acts prejudicial to Australia’s security and it is not in Australia’s interests for the person to remain—

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

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In order to be relevant, the minister has to refer to the comments made yesterday by Mr Bret Walker SC, not his—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. The minister has the call.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the end, people will make their own judgements, because in black and white here we have the words of Mr Walker SC. We have no issue with Mr Walker. Our issue is with the Labor Party, because the Labor Party tries to sit on both sides of this debate. That is the problem for Bill Shorten. That is the problem for this Leader of the Opposition. On the government's proposal to strip terrorists of their Australian citizenship if it does not render them stateless, he cannot come in here on one day saying it is a dog whistle and then pretend the next day that he is fully behind what we are doing. He cannot pretend that.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence on my left!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This man has failed every moral test that has been put to him during the course of his working life. That is the reality for this Leader of the Opposition.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney will desist!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And he fails this latest test yet again. This government has taken every effort, since we have been elected, to clean up Labor's mess when it comes to national security, when it comes to border security. They in government ripped out over $600 million from our national security and border protection agencies. We have restored funding. We have put counter-terrorism unit officers at our eight airports. Those 80 officers have been involved in hundreds of intercepts of people who would seek to go overseas, who would seek ultimately to come back to do harm to Australians here. And in this latest proposal we are saying to the Australian people, 'Yes, we do recognise, on the advice from the intelligence chiefs, that we face a significant threat from terrorism, but we are prepared as a government to do what it takes, within the law, to protect the Australian people, and we make no apology for it.'