George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, why does the counterterrorism white paper have virtually nothing to say about the risk to Australian security posed by people smuggling? Why was the issue ignored by the white paper at the very time the government was proposing to amend the ASIO Act to extend it to people smuggling? Does the government not accept that border protection is a vital element of counterterrorism policy? Is it the government’s position that people smuggling is a national security issue—yes or no?