Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians are looking at the events on the other side of the world right now, and they're of course deeply concerned about escalation and the threats it could pose to global peace and security. They also look at it and say, 'Why would we want to bring those problems here?' We know in Iran we have an Islamist regime that has done despicable things from treating their own citizens appallingly, subjugating women, murdering homosexuals and of course engaging in the export of terrorism. We know that the Albanese government has a shocking record on national security. It did things like bringing people from Gaza to Australia without doing proper security vetting and assessments, which is one of the most dangerous and reckless acts I have ever seen in public life. Why would we now then turn around and bring Islamist ISIS sympathisers to our country without proper checks and inspections?

This is the problem with what the government is doing right now. They claim their hands are tied. The Prime Minister says he can't do anything about it. Now is the time for leadership. Now is the time for people to stand up and defend Australia's national interest against Islamist ISIS sympathisers, who pose a serious risk to the Australian way of life and its security. It's simply unacceptable to see a situation where our government do nothing in the face of such a serious threat, and all they can do is dither with that responsibility. We have a plan and have made it very clear that, if you engage in bringing Islamist ISIS sympathisers to this country, you go to jail, and we are happy to stand by that.