Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The coalition welcomes the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador and stands ready to pass laws today to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. We called on the government to expel the ambassador last year and demanded the IRGC be listed as a terrorist organisation more than two years ago. Since then, the Iranian regime has sponsored attacks on Australian soil. Prime Minister, why didn't you act sooner when the warnings were so clear and the risks so grave?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The bipartisanship shown yesterday in the statements, 'We offer unequivocal bipartisan support to what is the response of the government,' and, 'I want to make it abundantly clear on behalf of the coalition that, while we sit opposite from the government in this chamber, we are entirely united behind the measures announced,' hasn't lasted that long. The member for Canning did an interview this morning where he was asked, 'Why didn't the coalition list it during its time in government?' The member for Canning responded:

That's a good question. I was the chair of the intelligence committee. I was always keen to list it. That's for whoever was in government then to explain.

To be very clear, he's talking about the then attorney-general, the then leadership and the various ministers that were then in office. That interview was today. He did another interview yesterday. Yesterday he said, 'I think we should have listed the IRGC sooner, but I understand that our intelligence agencies had to stack it all up and do so in a forensic manner.'

We take these issues very seriously. We listen to intelligence agencies. We don't try to second guess them, as occurred with the caravan incident. We wait for the proper advice. We get proper briefings and then we act on them. We act by taking the advice of ASIO as well as the Australian Federal Police. We got the advice on Monday morning and acted as soon as possible, given the need to get Australian personnel out of Tehran safely.

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! We're just going to stop the continual interjections, particularly on this matter. The Prime Minister is giving information to the House that I think all members wish to hear.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The idea that there was any delay between Monday morning and Tuesday, when we acted for the first time in the postwar era to expel an ambassador—something that those opposite or previous Labor governments had not done in the entire postwar period—is very serious, and it deserves a serious response. It doesn't deserve looking for political distinction. It doesn't deserve the sort of approach that we saw with the interviews that took place between yesterday at two o'clock and this morning. They couldn't resist playing politics. You should be better than that. (Time expired)