Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister update the House on steps the government has taken to remove dangerous outlaw motorcycle gang members from Australian society. Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

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

I thank the honourable member for his question. It is great to see the hard work he is doing up on the Sunshine Coast and integrity restored into the position of member for Fairfax; well done.

One of the great achievements of this government is that we are working with the state police authorities, the intelligence agencies and the crime commissions. We are identifying criminals who are here on visas—so noncitizens—who are out in the community, they are people who are committing crimes, and we are cancelling their visas at a record number. We are making the Australian community a safer place. We want to do that for families. We want people to be able to raise families and live in our community and to do it in a safe way.

I am proud of the fact that we have now cancelled a total of 115 visas of noncitizens who are members or associates of outlaw motorcycle gangs. Why is that important? It is important because we know that the OMCG members are the biggest distributors of amphetamines in the country. They are involved in extortion, they are involved in armed robberies and they are involved in every sort of criminal activity—

Dr Aly interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Cowan will not interject.

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

and they should be stamped out, and that is what we are doing.

The problem that I have—and I think the problem that the Australian public understands—is that there is a very close link between outlaw motorcycle gang members and the CFMEU. That union, unlike other good unions in the country, is involved in the sorts of practices on building sites of intimidating workers, subcontractors, small-business people and workers who go to work each day just trying to earn a quid for their families. They turn up on building sites, and they have the bikies turn up, because they are contracted by the CFMEU to muscle those people off building sites. It is unacceptable. During the election, one of my favourite photos was taken—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister knows—

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

I am sorry; of course. It was taken of John 'Gypsy' Morrison. He is a member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang and he is doing this little secret handshake with the local organiser of the CFMEU, Eddie Bland. They are there, strangely enough, with the 'Only Labor can save Medicare' sign—the propaganda that was used during the campaign. What we know is that the CFMEU have donated $11 million to the Australian Labor Party. What all of this says, and what the Leader of the Opposition has reinforced this week, is that he presides over these relationships. He sanctions the relationships between the CFMEU, the bikies and other people who are involved in criminal activity, because this Leader of the Opposition—the Australian public understands what Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard told us—cannot be trusted. He is a person of terrible character, and he wants to be the prime minister of this country. He is certainly not up to the job.(Time expired)