Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What a disappointing contribution from the Liberal Party today in question time! This is a Liberal Party that has learnt nothing from the last federal election. They have tried desperately, time and time again, to use this country's national security as their political sport, thinking that they can somehow sneak into government through the back door by fearmongering and deliberately scaring our community for their own political gain. They simply haven't changed, and they haven't learnt anything. We know the situation is a difficult and complex situation. They know it too, because they set up the legal framework. They know this. It is the coalition, after all, who in government let at least let 40 people, including foreign fighters, back into the country under the same legal framework. They know it. They're just using this for political sport, and it is so disappointing.

The Albanese government's position on this issue is clear, and it is longstanding. We are not providing assistance and we are not repatriating individuals from Syria.

National security is not political theatre. We follow the advice of our security agencies and we follow the law. That is how we keep Australians safe. Our agencies have been monitoring these individuals for some time. Our law enforcement and national security agencies are following the same approach they have for over a decade—the same approach the former government took when they were last in power.

But what this is, at a base level, is politics. I thought, maybe—we've got a new Liberal leader; we've got a new deputy Liberal leader—things might be different. But, sadly, the deputy leader sat here patiently for two days, not even getting a question. It was the same old guard asking the questions—Senators Cash, Duniam and Paterson—the old guard holding the mic, not passing it over to the new leadership team. I had hoped we might have heard something different this week from the new leadership team. But it's a bit like the same old show changing the chairs around on the deck of the boat—it's still the same old nasty cruise heading off to nightmare island.

They say, if you're headed in the wrong direction, it's really good to stop and reflect—take some moments for some deep reflection. What kind of deep reflection have they been engaged in across there? Well, we now know, because we've got a leaked copy of the Liberal Party review, about the type of deep reflection that these guys have kind of been ignoring. It says in the report that they've actually been trying to ignore reflection. They don't want to do it; they don't want to think about it.

But what was really interesting in the copy of the report I received was that the reviewers noted the party's capacity to thoughtlessly offend migrant voters, particularly Chinese Australian and Muslim voters, was breathtaking. Those opposite have had the opportunity to reflect on the election review, helpfully made available to all of us from media outlets. But what questions did they bowl up today in question time? More fear mongering, more material offensive to Muslim voters, more material offensive to Australian citizens. The coalition simply cannot be trusted on these issues.

I was really disappointed to see the contributions from Senator Sharma, someone who should know better because he knows, as a former DFAT official, exactly how hardworking our officers are out there on the ground in very troubling, very dangerous and very difficult situations. He comes into this place and he has a crack at them—people who are working around the clock in really dangerous situations—again, to try and fearmonger. We know that there's a difficult situation in the Middle East, so it was so disappointing to hear that contribution.

I will quickly share some advice. We have had a 'do not travel' in place for the Middle East for some time. Those people who require assistance should contact the Consular Emergency Centre on 1300555135 in Australia—or from outside Australia.