House debates Questions without Notice
Visa Refusal or Cancellation
Kevin Hogan Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism
2:29 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, did you receive any advice that your direction 99 would result in more criminals having to stay in Australia?
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
That is a question appropriately given to the minister because it's not my direction. What we know, in addition, is that yesterday they ran out of puff. So, today, they're into conspiracy theories.
Milton Dick Speaker
The Prime Minister will pause. The Leader of the Opposition will be heard in silence on his point of order.
Peter Dutton Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
Mr Speaker, it's an obvious point of order on relevance. Is it your ruling that the Prime Minister is relevant to the question, the very tight question, that was asked of him?
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
To the point of order, Mr Speaker: the challenge is always there when a question's directed to the wrong minister that refers to a specific direction that has been signed off by a different minister. When someone chooses to answer something that is being directed to the wrong minister, it has always been the case that there is a broader view on relevance.
Peter Dutton Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
On the point of order, the reason that the Leader of the House is speaking in error—I'm sure innocently, but, nonetheless, leading to the same outcome—is that the Prime Minister was the architect of direction 99. He did it as a commitment to Jacinda Ardern. He's put our country at risk.
Milton Dick Speaker
Resume your seat. My ruling is that within the 20 seconds of answering the question I haven't heard much of what the Prime Minister has said. I'm going to ask the Prime Minister to make his remarks directly relevant. It was a tight question. I remind the Leader of the Opposition: relevance is the point to make. It is not about making additional statements. So, if the Prime Minister wants to redirect the question, he's entitled to do that under the practice and standing orders as well, but he simply can't go off onto other topics, and I'll make sure he's being relevant. I want to make sure what he says further is going to be directly relevant, but so far, within 20 seconds, he hasn't addressed the core part of the question.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
The premise of the question is wrong. As the former minister knows, because he issued these directions himself—directions that resulted in almost 1,300 hard-core criminals being released from immigration detention centres—these are extensive documents that come from ministers.