Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026
Mr WALLACE (Fisher) (18:46): I rise to speak on the systemic failings of the Albanese government in the Home Affairs portfolio. This portfolio should be the foundation of our national security, our border integrity and the public's confidence that their government can keep them safe. That is government's first and most important responsibility.
Instead, it has become a symbol of mismanagement, confusion and weakness. The Department of Home Affairs was created in 2017 by the coalition. It was designed to bring together our key domestic security agencies.
It coordinates counterterrorism, immigration, border protection, law enforcement, cybersecurity and emergency management under one strategic umbrella. I'm very privileged to be the deputy chair of the PJCIS, which oversees many of these agencies. Home affairs was designed to ensure information was shared, decisions were swift and Australia's defences were united.
It worked because it had focus, discipline and accountability. But, since Labor took office, that discipline has been dismantled. The government has treated home affairs like a political experiment.
It's rearranging its structure without strategy and without purpose. What was once the cornerstone of national security has been reduced to bureaucratic chaos. The clearest example of this incompetence was the High Court ruling on indefinite detention known as the NZYQ case.
It was an avoidable legal and political disaster caused by this government's own actions. You'd remember that over 150 detainees were released into the community, including convicted rapists, child sex offenders and murderers. Some have reoffended since they've been released into the community.
The then minister made a reckless concession to the High Court that these individuals were being held in indefinite detention when he did not have to make that concession. His decision tied the hands of the High Court and triggered a chain of events that endangered communities across this country. Whether that was through arrogance or incompetence, the outcome remains the same.
It was a serious public safety failure that should never have happened. What was the government's response? It was confusion, panic and the ultimate—albeit very long, slow and painful—reshuffle.
The member for Hotham and the member for Scullin were quietly shifted on to new portfolios as if Australians would forget the consequences of their actions. That is not accountability; it is political cowardice. Fast forward to now.
The Prime Minister has handed the Home Affairs portfolio to the member for Watson, who's already carrying a pretty heavy load, one would think. The member Watson is now responsible for Home Affairs, immigration, cybersecurity, the arts and still serves as Leader of the House. He is, by definition, a part-time Home Affairs minister.
That is not a serious model for national security. It is a recipe for divided attention and diminished leadership. Since his appointment, we have seen this government approve the entry of almost 3,000 people from war-torn Gaza without appropriate ASIO vetting.
Visas were issued in as little as 24 hours, when such checks can take weeks, if not months. Some have since had their visas cancelled after proper screening. That is not compassion; that is negligence.
Minister, for those who have allegedly committed offences since being released from detention by this government, what does the government plan to do with them after they are released from prison, assuming— (Time expired)