April 19, 2023
The new opposition home affairs spokesperson is vowing to return the "dismantled" portfolio to the Coalition's original super-portfolio, taking back in the Australian Federal Police with other intelligence and security agencies, if the opposition is returned to government.
Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson is one of four promotions in Peter Dutton's reshuffle forced by the resignation of former shadow attorney-general and Indigenous affairs spokesman Julian Leeser over the Coalition's official opposition to the Voice and the only one not re-positioned to prosecute the stance on the proposed Indigenous representative body.
He has paid tribute to his predecessor Karen Andrews, who will not contest the next federal election, saying she can be "very proud of her legacy" making difficult decisions including listing Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organisations.
Senator Paterson has told The Canberra Times that he starts from a place of bipartisanship, but clarity needs to be returned to Home Affairs.
"It is unfortunate that the new government has dismantled the portfolio and divided it again between the Attorney-General's portfolio and Home Affairs portfolio," he said.
"I think it now is unclear who is the senior domestic national security policy office holder? Is it the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus? Or is it the Home Affairs Minister Claire O'Neil? If we are returned to government we return that clarity and make sure it's clearly under Home Affairs."
ASIO and the Australian Border Force remain in Home Affairs under Labor, but the AFP was shifted to the Attorney-General's Department in a move welcomed last year by the Australian Federal Police Association,
Senator Paterson enters shadow cabinet, according to Mr Dutton, on the back of an "outstanding job" for the opposition on cyber security and foreign interference.
He has been highlighting national security concerns about the social media app TikTok on government devices and has been urging departments to "rip out" China-linked surveillance devices.
It comes at a time when Australia is trying to repair relations with its largest trading partner, but Senator Paterson said national security and national interest must always come first.
"All other considerations must be secondary," he said. "That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be sensitive to the implications for our bilateral relations. But we should never put the preservation of a bilateral relationship ahead about national security. We should never sacrifice our national security in the name of the bilateral relationship."
"Unfortunately, I think all these companies do represent very real and very serious national security risks.
"And that's why in response to my activism on the issue, the government has acted, they are removing the CCTV cameras. They have banned TikTok from government devices. And the Defence Minister only yesterday announced in response to my questions about DJI (Chinese drones) that he was going to do a full audit of the DJI drones operated by the Australian Defence Force."
The Opposition Leader also catapulted first-term senator and Nationals partyroom member Jacinta Nampijinpa Price into the Coalition frontbench, making her the opposition spokeswoman for Indigenous affairs.
Michaelia Cash returns to the Attorney-General portfolio as the shadow attorney-general and has been tasked with doing a "forensic job" looking into any possible Voice risks, while another first-term senator, Kerrynne Liddle, joins the outer ministry as the opposition spokesperson for child protection and prevention of family violence, the other portfolios from Ms Andrews.
Senator Price, who is a vocal "No" campaigner, declared she was "very humbled, very grateful" and pushed against what she called the "Aboriginal industry" advocating the "Yes" case.
"Those that I've spoken to [in remote communities] are not interested in this yet again, another bureaucracy," she told reporters in Adelaide.
Mr Dutton described the Country LNP senator representing the Northern Territory as a "warrior" for Indigenous Australians and a "very proud territorian".
"She's always fought hard to improve the lives of Indigenous women and kids and we've seen that in recent days," he told reporters.
The junior Coalition partner is now above its quota under the Coalition agreement with seven Nationals members of shadow cabinet. Nationals David Littleproud has welcomed the Senator Price's elevation as a "proud day for the Nationals."
The Prime Minister has accused the Coalition of being "focused on themselves", but Mr Albanese has nonetheless congratulated those senators promoted on Tuesday and wished Ms Andrews well.
