Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister update the House on how the Morrison government is protecting Australian families from the threat posed by dangerous non-citizen criminals? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question, and I thank him for standing up in his local community to make sure that people are safe in the city of Townsville and the surrounding areas. He strongly supports, like all people on this side of the House, the government's policy in relation to cancelling visas of dangerous criminals—people who have committed serious offences against Australian citizens. The words don't need to be taken at face value. Look at the results. Look at what we've done in relation to these visa cancellations.

To the Prime Minister's credit, in 2014, we changed the law because we were quite amazed when we came into government and saw the fact that very few people, particularly those who had committed the most heinous offences against children and women and men in this country, were allowed to stay in our country and to repeat those offences against further victims. So we make no apology for having ramped up that program and done it in a dramatic way. For example, I have been incredibly proud—and I have informed the House of this on a number of occasions—of the $70 million that we've invested in the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, because that is saving children—young boys and young girls—from harm. We are, I think, landing a very significant blow on those paedophiles and sexual predators who seek out Australian children as their victims. It doesn't stop there because, with the visa cancellations during the Prime Minister's time as the immigration minister and during my time, we have been able to cancel 309 visas of persons who have committed rape and other sexual offences. Our successes in that portfolio compares to, for the previous six-year period, 43.

We have made it our business to make sure that we can work with the authorities here and overseas to identify these offenders, and we make no apologies for it. In fact, we have now cancelled the visas of 6,300 non-citizen criminals. These are people who, unbelievably, when you look at their criminal histories, have gone on for years and years and years to commit criminal offences, including sexual assault and rape, against subsequent victims. I am proud of this government for the way in which we have kicked these people out of our country. They will not offend again against Australian women and children. We will not allow them—

Mr Gosling interjecting—

I take the interjection from the member for Solomon, who has been against this legislation, and he should explain to his community, where there has been an outrageous spike in relation to the number of those who have committed sexual offences against children. He should start with action like we have and stop the nonsense rhetoric that he continues, as do many others opposite.