Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My home town of Katanning is one of the most harmonious multicultural towns in Western Australia, where migrants have been welcomed for decades, contributing much to the town's economic, social and cultural fabric. The first Malay Christmas Islanders migrated there in the 1970s, taking up jobs in the local abattoir, and were followed by waves of migrants fleeing conflict in their homelands of Afghanistan, Burundi and Burma. All were keen to integrate into a tolerant community made more vibrant through their contributions. Australia is a great country thanks to generations of migrants and their commitment and allegiance to their adopted home.

So I stand here today to challenge Labor on their secrecy when it comes to the ISIS brides and our national security. Labor claims these individuals aren't welcome, yet officials issue passports while the home affairs minister says his hands are tied. Labor is allowing 'self-managed' returns of Islamic State sympathisers, outsourcing our nation's security to NGOs and third parties. Passports are being hand-delivered into conflict zones while public servants are ushered out of meetings. Labor won't use existing passport and exclusion laws to protect our borders, which is why the coalition has introduced the Criminal Code Amendment (Keeping Australia Safe) Bill. This bill requires express ministerial approval before anyone assists a returnee. If a minister wants these people back, they must sign their name to it—no more hiding behind bureaucracy and no more outsourcing security.