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| Andrew Wilkie says fourth Crown whistleblower 'is in fears of his life' – question time live | Andrew Wilkie says fourth Crown whistleblower 'is in fears of his life' – question time live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 5.05am BST | |
| 05:05 | |
| Paul Karp | |
| Back to estimates: | |
| Michelle Guthrie has told Senate estimates about the ABC’s concerns that “fair and balanced” will be added to its charter:“We are concerned with how those words will be read by people who choose to take an aggressive view towards achieving a false balance, not based on the weight of evidence.”The words already appear in the ABC’s editorial policies but include that important rider - based on the weight of evidence.The other ABC official at the table explains that “stripped of context” the terms fair and balanced might be construed to imply “false balance and he said she said journalism”. | |
| 5.03am BST | |
| 05:03 | |
| Clare O’Neal is next on the AFP question line: | |
| Today the Justice Minister said the government has, “Never been more effective in the fight against drugs” but earlier in estimates AFP Commissioner Colvin said the AFP is having to look at our organised crime work to make up the government’s $184 million cut to the Australian Federal Police. Who is right? You or the Australian Federal Police Commissioner? | |
| Michael Keenan:Don’t verbal a respected public servant. Don’t walk into this place and try and make out he said something that he didn’t. It is absolute nonsense to say we have cut the Australian Federal Police’s budget by $184 million. It’s complete nonsense. As I said at the start of Question Time...I’m very happy to run through the record and compare and contrast our record in government with your record when you were in government for six years which saw our law enforcement not given the support and the resources that,quite frankly, they deserve. We have invested, since 2013, $1.5 billion in our national security and counter-terrorism operations. $128million to fund the serious financial crime task force. Very difficult crimes to investigate. We’ve got specialist capability in there with this investment to do it. $116 million in the national anti-gang squad. $25 million to expand the AFP as national forensic’s rapid lab capability $21million to extend the royal commission task force, something we know those opposite don’t support. $15 million for the fraud and anti-corruption centre. On top of the resources we have given to our agencies, what is also very important is we’ve given them the powers to do their job. If the Australian Labor Party is so worried about fighting crime, why don’t they join us is in helping to lock up paedophiles? Why don’t they support what we want to do to lock up paedophiles?” | |
| And that starts a firestorm of complaint from the Labor party. Keenan did this last week as well, after he made a similar accusation. Here is what Tony Burke had to say on this: | |
| “Practice 516 and 517 specifically refers to two points. One, that a comment does not need to be levelled against an individual member. It can be levelled generally to be offensive. Secondly, if language of a nature likely to create disorder is included as well as words that are generally considered unparliamentary. Specifically, criminal offences such as sedition,treason, support for corruption,deliberate dishonesty are referred to as being unparliamentary terms.Anything that associates members of parliament with in some way being approving of paedophiles is something..in terms of directly saying, “They don’t want them to be locked up” is an extraordinary claim. I would draw members’ attention to quotes from Senate estimates today that were not used by the Opposition that this sort of language is going to have an impact on the chamber and both sides of politics should be above it. | |
| Christopher Pyne responds: What the Minister for Justice in his statement was referring to, which is well understood by the entire chamber, is that the government has legislation before the House to introduce minimum mandatory sentences for people who have been convicted of sentences to do with paedophilia and gun smuggling and the Labor Party’s indicated they will not support that. It is, therefore, a statement of fact. It is not an insult...it is not an insult to the Opposition. It wouldn’t have been made as an insult to the Opposition. It is a juxtaposing this government’s recordon tough sentences on things like gun smuggling.” | |
| Tony Smith rules: I have listened to the Manager of Opposition Business. I listened carefully the other day to the Minister for Justice and what the Leader of theHouse says - I ask forbearance of all members of the House while I complete my remarks - is quite right that is not what the Minister for Justice said. He didn’t refer to any legislation. He did make a very specific statement. On the Manager of Opposition Business’s point of order, I’m very familiar with the practice and I’m very familiar with the pages. I spend a lot of time reading practice. He’s right when he says that offensive remarks directed at individuals have been asked to be withdrawn regularly and there have been occasions where speakers as far back as Speaker Sneddon has said remarks to groups to be withdrawn.It cuts both ways. You can pick what you wanted to out of all of those precedents. But I’ve reflected on what the minister said. He didn’t say what the Leader of the House said. In fact, if he’d framed it that way, whilst I wouldn’t have approved, as I said the other day,that would have been a different matter but in terms of what I heard,I’m going to ask the minister to withdraw that and continue on with his answer. | |
| So how does Keenan apologise? | |
| “Well, I withdraw. I’m sorry that the facts are such a deep inconvenience.” | |
| He’s told to sit down. | |
| 4.54am BST | |
| 04:54 | |
| Christopher Pyne gets his weekly ‘just how terrible are the terrible unions’ question and surprise, surprise the CFMEU is this week’s subject. | |
| Here is his concluding flourish: The member for Sydney was asked about the CFMEU today. She defended the CFMEU. She said this, “Unions get to have a say. Business gets to have a say. Non-governmental organisations get to have a say.” The CFMEU is no worse than any other organisation engaged in robbery, no worse than the AIG, no worse than our friends in the Country Women’s Association, or UNICEF, non-government organisations, the CFMEU, CWA, the ladies who invited weary travellers for a cake at the royal show, they are the same as the CFMEU. Perhaps the member for Sydney next time John Setka is in dispute,he have a bake-off. | |
| 4.52am BST | |
| 04:52 | |
| Paul Karp | |
| Back to estimates. | |
| Under questioning from Eric Abetz, Michelle Guthrie concedes that the timing of an Australian Story special on Sam Dastyari, which coincided with release of the senator’s book, was “a mistake”. | |
| But Guthrie noted the program didn’t refer to his book. “My concern was not around the program itself but around the timing ... and the way others have taken that as a tie, which didn’t exist,” she said. | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.54am BST | |
| 4.52am BST | |
| 04:52 | |
| The ABC story they are fighting over, is this one | |
| 4.50am BST | |
| 04:50 | |
| Greg Hunt says some things about energy. Dixers will be the death of me. | |
| But the main game is Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull and their battle over the AFP funding today. And both are getting visibly annoyed. | |
| Shorten: Given the prime minister just advised the parliament to listen to the AFP, does the prime minister consider the AFP is wrong when it says the resourcing shortages left the AFP unable to properly investigate a 1.6 tonne cocaine importation? When will the prime minister finally stop blaming everybody else and take some responsibility for the decisions that his government makes when it comes to the AFP? | |
| Turnbull: The Labor party’s commitment to the rule of law would be taken somewhat more seriously if they weren’t wholly owned and beholden to the CFMEU. | |
| Let’s have a look, let’s have a look, very important ... to look at the corporate structures to see who the shareholders are. That’s where the money comes from. The CFMEU ... As at eight days ago ... there were 84 CFMEU representatives before the courts facing a total of 896 alleged breaches of the law. | |
| The CFMEU, or its representatives, were respondents in 41 separate matters before the courts facing a total of 1,779 suspected contraventions and over $10m in penalties has been awarded against the AWU by the ABCC and its predecessors. Mr Speaker, the fact of the matter is Labor continues to defend an organisation that breaches the law as a matter of course, that treats fines as parking tickets. They know that if the leader of the opposition had the courage or the character of Bob Hawke, he would do what Bob Hawke has said, “You know what I did...” | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.06am BST | |
| 4.46am BST | |
| 04:46 | |
| Bill Shorten: My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, we support the AFP efforts but why are the AFP advising that they lack the resources to properly investigate serious crime including drug importation? I quote the ABC online where they say, “The AFP document said New South Wales AFP did not have sufficient resources to meet the operational load”. | |
| Malcolm Turnbull: If the honourable member spent more time listening to the AFP and less time coordinating his Question Time tactics with the ABC, he’d have abetter insight into national security. | |
| 4.45am BST | |
| 04:45 | |
| Barnaby Joyce whips himself into a frenzy, combining several of his most recent favoured attack lines, some Queensland election lines, and well, read for yourself. | |
| “Unfortunately, those on the other side, a lot of university graduates, no problem with that, a lot of solicitors, but no labourers in the Labor Party. They believe labourers are politically incorrect. You can see that in Jihad they run against some of the vital coal-fired assets in our electorate. Gladstone, Stanwell, all employing blue-collar workers because the member for Flynn is not embarrassed about blue-collar workers, he has been a blue-collar worker, unlike the Labor Party, very rarely do you find someone in the Labor Party who’s done a labouring job, a labouring job. Then the teachers stick up their hand. Teachers...Where are these people who actually ever worked for a living in the Labor Party? Where are the labourers in the Labor Party? | |
| “...They don’t exist any more. We are going to make sure that we keep the jobs in Flynn, the people in Flynn,the industrial city of Gladstone, we are going to look after the people in Gladstone, rather than just the people of Annandale. We are going to make sure the basket weavers do not reign supreme in our nation. We look for to member of Maribyrnong, he used to represent them, to come to the Despatch Box and tell us about his grand vision for Australia. 50%renewables. There won’t be a job left in this place. They say today in the paper 75% of coal-fired power stations will have to be closed down. What does the member for Hunter have to say about that? The member for Shortland? What does the member for Herbert have to say about that? They say nothing because they don’t stand up for workers any more. They don’t stand up for workers anymore. We hear the piste de resistance. We are waiting for Mr Rudd’s book to come out because the moment we hear the member for Lilley, the former Treasurer of the millennia was put there as a poisoned pill. He was there to blowup Rudd. He ended up blowing up a whole budget. He ended up blowing the budget of the nation. He was there as a joke. He was there as a joke. They never saw the funny side of it. They kept him there. They made him the Treasurer of Australia. What an enlightenment the Labor Party is. What a wonderful grace for our economic future the Labor Party is. The joke is still here! I think the joke is making a comeback! | |
| 4.40am BST | |
| 04:40 | |
| Back in estimates: | |
| Guthrie: I note comments ... by One Nation that part of the reason they've asked for names is they want to find “dud presenters”. #estimates | |
| 4.40am BST | |
| 04:40 | |
| Next up is Josh Frydenberg, taking another Dixer on energy, where he says Bill Shorten is like “that Japanese soldier, Hiroo Onoda”. | |
| “Thirty years he was stuck in the jungle, Mr Speaker, lost in the jungle, refusing to surrender, refusing to surrender while everyone was getting on. In fact, they found the leader of the opposition there in the jungle with his emissions intensity scheme in one hand, Mr Speaker, and the climate wars in the other, Mr Speaker, and the climate wars in the other. There was the leader of the opposition.” | |
| Hardy ha, ha | |
| Then it is on to a two-in-one answer to a Labor question. | |
| “In question time today the prime minister said, ‘Every decision, every policy, every measure relating to the AFP is focused on ensuring they have the capacity to keep us safe.’ How does the prime minister describe an ABC report, “A July AFP memo revealed resourcing shortages left the AFP not properly able to investigate a drug shipment meaning it could not be properly explored”? | |
| Malcolm Turnbull: I will invite the minister to add to this answer but let me say this. In terms of intercepting drug importation, we have seen record seizures, met hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of drugs seized and extraordinary cooperation between the AFP, Border Force and foreign police and security agencies overseas. We are cracking down on those drug importers on a scale never seen before but I should say, Mr Speaker, the challenge is on a scale never seen before and we will need to do more and more. We understand that. But the combination of great policing, great investigation, great intelligence is a credit not simply to the AFP and the other agencies with which they worked but also to the extra resources, intelligence, legislative, financial, that we are putting behind our effort to stamp out drug importation. | |
| Michael Keenan: I will just invite the opposition to look at the scoreboard that our law enforcement agencies have actually managed over the past four years. Record seizures of cocaine. Record seizures of crystal methamphetamine. Record seizures of precursors such as ephedrine. The Australian federal police, working in conjunction with Australian Border Force, working in conjunction with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, and we have seen these record seizures. We have sent our law enforcement agents out to the world incredibly effectively. Taskforce Blaze in China. The only joint taskforce of any foreign law enforcement agency with the Chinese National Narcotics Control Bureau. AFP officers working side-by-side with their Chinese counterparts has stopped 13 tonnes of drugs hitting Australian streets in the past two years. We have similar taskforces with the Royal Thai Police and the Royal Cambodian Police. We have a significant problem with the high demand for illicit drugs inAustralia. We have been tackling it by tackling the supply side and our efforts have never been more effective with the law enforcement operations that I’ve just outlined. We have also tackled the demand side, particularly in relation to crystal methamphetamine or ice with the largest investment in drug and alcohol rehabilitation in Australia’s history. I’m very pleased to report to the House, because it’s the first time we’ve ever had comprehensive information, that we are seeing the embryonic start of a decrease in ice usage throughout our community. This is a direct result of the efforts of our law enforcement community combined with what we have done to decrease demand for this insidious drug. | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.53am BST | |
| 4.32am BST | 4.32am BST |
| 04:32 | 04:32 |
| Paul Karp | Paul Karp |
| Dipping out of question time for a moment ... | |
| The ABC chief executive, Michelle Guthrie, has given a powerful opening speech in Senate estimates. | |
| Guthrie asks people who “seek to restrict the activities of the ABC”: What problem are we trying to solve here? She points to the fact that 80% of Australians are happy with the job it is doing. | |
| Guthrie: | |
| ABC independence is highly valued by the community and I submit that you cannot have it by degrees. The ABC board, which is appointed by government, is ultimately responsible for the performance of the national broadcaster and must do so by carefully balancing its obligations and audience expectations. It should not be burdened with quotas, sectional claims, red tape and political vendettas in achieving what the community expects of it.” | |
| Guthrie rejects the view that the ABC is “just a market failure broadcaster, doing only what the commercial sector does not want to do or cannot”, noting the ABC charter does not limit its activities in that way. | |
| That has never been our defining role, nor should it be in the future. Our corporate accounts, which are publicly available on our website, provide a detailed breakdown of our remuneration for all employees earning over $200,000 – all without sacrificing individual privacy, as the current law demands. | |
| In follow-up questions, Guthrie says the ABC has advice that publishing individual names next to these salaries would breach the Privacy Act, which suggests the government would need legislation to force it to do so. | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.39am BST | |
| 4.31am BST | 4.31am BST |
| 04:31 | 04:31 |
| Julie Bishop is sent out to answer a dixer on energy. | Julie Bishop is sent out to answer a dixer on energy. |
| Then we are back to opposition questions, with Tony Burke asking about George Brandis’s comments about Bruce Billson from estimates yesterday. | Then we are back to opposition questions, with Tony Burke asking about George Brandis’s comments about Bruce Billson from estimates yesterday. |
| ‘It is very appropriate for backbench members of parliament to receive remuneration from third-party sources not inconsistent with their responsibility as members of parliament. It’s both consistent and commonplace.’ Is the behaviour of Bruce Billson commonplace for this government? Just how many members of the government are we talking about? | |
| “Really,” the Labor backbench queries as Burke reads Brandis’s comments (you’ll find that transcript a bit back in the blog). | |
| Malcolm Turnbull takes this one as well, but it is not an answer. | Malcolm Turnbull takes this one as well, but it is not an answer. |
| The members’ interest disclosure system, which all honourable members here are very familiar with, does provide for the disclosure of income over and above a member’s parliamentary salary and it’s open to the honourable member or anyone else with an interest in the matter to go through all those disclosures and determine how many backbenchers are in receipt of income from third-party sources, as the honourable member described it. | |
| TL:DR – You want to know how many are getting paid from third-party sources, go through the register and find out. (Which doesn’t help with those who “forget” to update their register though, does it?) | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.37am BST | |
| 4.27am BST | 4.27am BST |
| 04:27 | 04:27 |
| Andrew Wilkie has the independent question today. He uses it to make further allegations against Crown Casino and says a fourth whistleblower who has come forward “fears for his safety”. | Andrew Wilkie has the independent question today. He uses it to make further allegations against Crown Casino and says a fourth whistleblower who has come forward “fears for his safety”. |
| Prime minister, a fourth Crown Casino whistleblower has now come forward and levelled further serious allegations of poker machines being illegally tampered with. Significantly, he names the Crown staff he alleges told him to modify machines and asked me to give these names to the police, which I’m doing. However, this worker fears for his safety and doesn’t entirely trust the police or the regulators and, for that reason, he asks you personally, and the opposition leader, to support a transparent inquiry. So, prime minister, will you establish a parliamentary inquiry so that the Australian people can learn the truth about the casino industry and, Speaker, I seek leave to table these latest allegations? | Prime minister, a fourth Crown Casino whistleblower has now come forward and levelled further serious allegations of poker machines being illegally tampered with. Significantly, he names the Crown staff he alleges told him to modify machines and asked me to give these names to the police, which I’m doing. However, this worker fears for his safety and doesn’t entirely trust the police or the regulators and, for that reason, he asks you personally, and the opposition leader, to support a transparent inquiry. So, prime minister, will you establish a parliamentary inquiry so that the Australian people can learn the truth about the casino industry and, Speaker, I seek leave to table these latest allegations? |
| Smith doesn’t have a chance to ask if leave is granted before Christopher Pyne is on his feet: | Smith doesn’t have a chance to ask if leave is granted before Christopher Pyne is on his feet: |
| As to the last part of the question, Mr Speaker, the purpose of tabling documents is not to allow slanderous or defamatory material to be covered by parliamentary privilege and, as I haven’t seen the documents, I will not be granting leave on this occasion. | As to the last part of the question, Mr Speaker, the purpose of tabling documents is not to allow slanderous or defamatory material to be covered by parliamentary privilege and, as I haven’t seen the documents, I will not be granting leave on this occasion. |
| That just leaves Malcolm Turnbull to answer, which he does, by saying the right authorities will investigate the allegations. | That just leaves Malcolm Turnbull to answer, which he does, by saying the right authorities will investigate the allegations. |
| The police, the gambling regulators in Victoria and Austrac are the appropriate people to investigate and examine these allegations. Those agencies have the necessary powers, extensive powers and, indeed, powers far greater than a parliamentary committee. Now, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, I’m advised, is investigating the allegations and Austrac is also examining the specific nature of allegations of money laundering. If any members or senators are aware of allegations of unlawfulness, I strongly encourage them to report those directly to our law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Our law enforcement agencies do an outstanding job in keeping us safe and enforcing and upholding the rule of law upon which our democracy depends. | The police, the gambling regulators in Victoria and Austrac are the appropriate people to investigate and examine these allegations. Those agencies have the necessary powers, extensive powers and, indeed, powers far greater than a parliamentary committee. Now, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, I’m advised, is investigating the allegations and Austrac is also examining the specific nature of allegations of money laundering. If any members or senators are aware of allegations of unlawfulness, I strongly encourage them to report those directly to our law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Our law enforcement agencies do an outstanding job in keeping us safe and enforcing and upholding the rule of law upon which our democracy depends. |
| Wilkie jumps up to say that the man in question “is in fear of his life and lost faith in the regulator”. | Wilkie jumps up to say that the man in question “is in fear of his life and lost faith in the regulator”. |
| Turnbull says the “idea that those investigations would be assisted by a simultaneous parliamentary inquiry almost beggars belief. I say to the honourable member that if he is really concerned with ensuring that these allegations are investigated, that due process is applied and justice is done, then he would confine his revelations and his communications, his information on this matter, to the police and the regulators. That is his duty as a member of this parliament, as someone committed to upholding the law.” | Turnbull says the “idea that those investigations would be assisted by a simultaneous parliamentary inquiry almost beggars belief. I say to the honourable member that if he is really concerned with ensuring that these allegations are investigated, that due process is applied and justice is done, then he would confine his revelations and his communications, his information on this matter, to the police and the regulators. That is his duty as a member of this parliament, as someone committed to upholding the law.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.30am BST | at 4.30am BST |
| 4.21am BST | 4.21am BST |
| 04:21 | 04:21 |
| Back to Bill Shorten who repeats his question from earlier, with an additional detail: | Back to Bill Shorten who repeats his question from earlier, with an additional detail: |
| “I repeat: is the prime minister aware of any policies or decisions taken by him or his government that have diminished the operational capacity of the Australian federal police and specifically to investigate major drug importations including the importation of cocaine?” | “I repeat: is the prime minister aware of any policies or decisions taken by him or his government that have diminished the operational capacity of the Australian federal police and specifically to investigate major drug importations including the importation of cocaine?” |
| But a short question does not bring about a short answer from the prime minister. | But a short question does not bring about a short answer from the prime minister. |
| “The chutzpah of the leader of the opposition. He stands up here and asks us about national security. This is the leader of a party that outsourced our border’s sovereignty to people smugglers. This is the leader of a party that, despite all of the warnings and all of the knowledge, chose to abandon the integrity of our own borders, abandoned all of that, outsourced ...” | “The chutzpah of the leader of the opposition. He stands up here and asks us about national security. This is the leader of a party that outsourced our border’s sovereignty to people smugglers. This is the leader of a party that, despite all of the warnings and all of the knowledge, chose to abandon the integrity of our own borders, abandoned all of that, outsourced ...” |
| The manager of opposition business, Tony Burke, interrupts with a point of order on relevance – it’s a direct question, he says, and deserves a direct answer. | The manager of opposition business, Tony Burke, interrupts with a point of order on relevance – it’s a direct question, he says, and deserves a direct answer. |
| Tony Smith allows the prime minister to continue. | Tony Smith allows the prime minister to continue. |
| “50,000 illegal arrivals and over 1,000 deaths at sea was not enough on border protection, that was Labor’s track record, that is your glorious record, that’s your record of failing Australians and security. What about the ADF? How many naval ships did the Labor party commission in six years? None. Nothing. Nothing at all. | “50,000 illegal arrivals and over 1,000 deaths at sea was not enough on border protection, that was Labor’s track record, that is your glorious record, that’s your record of failing Australians and security. What about the ADF? How many naval ships did the Labor party commission in six years? None. Nothing. Nothing at all. |
| “... As far as the Australian federal police is concerned, I can say this to honourable members: every decision we’ve taken, every policy we have set out, every measure relating to the AFP is focused on ensuring they have the capacity to keep us safe and the skills and the technology to do so in these dangerous times.” | “... As far as the Australian federal police is concerned, I can say this to honourable members: every decision we’ve taken, every policy we have set out, every measure relating to the AFP is focused on ensuring they have the capacity to keep us safe and the skills and the technology to do so in these dangerous times.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.25am BST | at 4.25am BST |
| 4.16am BST | 4.16am BST |
| 04:16 | 04:16 |
| Dixer to Scott Morrison, who manages to combine the productivity commission report with energy policy. | Dixer to Scott Morrison, who manages to combine the productivity commission report with energy policy. |
| I’ll leave you with his big finish: | I’ll leave you with his big finish: |
| The shadow treasurer is like Grandpa Simpson shouting at the clouds, shaking his fist at the clouds. There he is, angry and empty, Mr Speaker, is the shadow treasurer and the members of the Labor frontbench because their policy is to put prices up by $192, not to put prices down by $115. What a bunch of muppets. | The shadow treasurer is like Grandpa Simpson shouting at the clouds, shaking his fist at the clouds. There he is, angry and empty, Mr Speaker, is the shadow treasurer and the members of the Labor frontbench because their policy is to put prices up by $192, not to put prices down by $115. What a bunch of muppets. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.19am BST | at 4.19am BST |
| 4.14am BST | 4.14am BST |
| 04:14 | 04:14 |
| Bill Shorten takes the next question as well, which is again on the AFP: | Bill Shorten takes the next question as well, which is again on the AFP: |
| “Is prime minister aware of any policies or decisions, taken by him or his government, that are diminishing the operational capacity of the Australian federal police? | “Is prime minister aware of any policies or decisions, taken by him or his government, that are diminishing the operational capacity of the Australian federal police? |
| The prime minister takes this one: | The prime minister takes this one: |
| As the minister for justice very eloquently and comprehensively replied, the support that we have given to the Australian federal police is at an unprecedented level. $321m in the last budget. The largest single funding boost for the AFP’s domestic policing capabilities in a decade. Mr Speaker, what we have provided the AFP ... to fill new specialist positions so vital to keep Australians safe in the threat of terrorism, 100 intelligence experts, over 100 tactical response and covert surveillance operators and just under 100 new forensic specialists. | As the minister for justice very eloquently and comprehensively replied, the support that we have given to the Australian federal police is at an unprecedented level. $321m in the last budget. The largest single funding boost for the AFP’s domestic policing capabilities in a decade. Mr Speaker, what we have provided the AFP ... to fill new specialist positions so vital to keep Australians safe in the threat of terrorism, 100 intelligence experts, over 100 tactical response and covert surveillance operators and just under 100 new forensic specialists. |
| I don’t know whether honourable members opposite have had the opportunity to visit the federal police headquarters there ... to see the extraordinary work that’s undertaken by the tactical response team, by the forensic specialists ... We are dealing with ... The police there are at the absolute cutting edge of science and technology. That’s what we need to keep Australians safe and we are providing them with the financial resources to enable them to do that. But in addition, Mr Speaker, what we’re also doing is providing them with the legislation, with the laws, that they need to keep us safe. Again one tranche of national security legislation after another has been passed through this parliament at the instigation of my government and, indeed, the government headed by the member for Warringah. We have done that. We have done everything to make Australians safe and give our agencies, our national security agencies, our intelligence services and, indeed, the ADF all of the tools they need to keep Australians safe in dangerous times. | I don’t know whether honourable members opposite have had the opportunity to visit the federal police headquarters there ... to see the extraordinary work that’s undertaken by the tactical response team, by the forensic specialists ... We are dealing with ... The police there are at the absolute cutting edge of science and technology. That’s what we need to keep Australians safe and we are providing them with the financial resources to enable them to do that. But in addition, Mr Speaker, what we’re also doing is providing them with the legislation, with the laws, that they need to keep us safe. Again one tranche of national security legislation after another has been passed through this parliament at the instigation of my government and, indeed, the government headed by the member for Warringah. We have done that. We have done everything to make Australians safe and give our agencies, our national security agencies, our intelligence services and, indeed, the ADF all of the tools they need to keep Australians safe in dangerous times. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.20am BST | at 4.20am BST |
| 4.11am BST | 4.11am BST |
| 04:11 | 04:11 |
| First dixer is on energy. | First dixer is on energy. |
| There is nothing new in Malcolm Turnbull’s answer. | There is nothing new in Malcolm Turnbull’s answer. |
| Mark that off your cards. | Mark that off your cards. |
| We have had our first removal under 94a–who had Brian Mitchell? Might have had something to do with the member for Lyons bringing in two cans tied with a piece of string, Mike Bowers tells me. We’ll bring you that image very soon. | We have had our first removal under 94a–who had Brian Mitchell? Might have had something to do with the member for Lyons bringing in two cans tied with a piece of string, Mike Bowers tells me. We’ll bring you that image very soon. |