November 28, 2024
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PETER STEFANOVIC: Well it's a mad rush to the finish line in Canberra with no less than 36 bills on the agenda. Now if yesterday is anything to go by, it could well get testy again today as Labor looks to score a few late goals to close out the political year. Joining us live is the Shadow Home Affairs Minister, James Paterson. James, good to see you this morning. I will ask you about the Port of Darwin in a moment. But just on yesterday, things got very hot in the Senate. Senators Fatima Payman, Pauline Hanson they were exchanging verbal blows, Lidia Thorpe was suspended. She said on breakfast TV today that she was goaded into it. So what are your thoughts on everything that happened?
JAMES PATERSON: Good morning, Pete. Well, it certainly wasn't an edifying display by my colleagues in the Senate yesterday. I will defend the right of every senator, whether I agree with them or not, to robustly advocate their points of view in the chamber or elsewhere, including Senator Thorpe, Senator Payman and Senator Hanson. But a line was crossed yesterday and Senator Thorpe's behaviour of throwing papers at Senator Hanson and then flipping the bird on her way out of the chamber is conduct that the Senate can't tolerate. And on a bipartisan basis yesterday we took the very unusual step of suspending her from the Senate under the Senate standing orders. Now that's not something that is used lightly. It's not something that anyone was enthusiastic about, but it was something that was necessary, given Senator Thorpe's egregious behaviour.
STEFANOVIC: Okay. We've got a bit to get through this morning, James. So yeah, 36 bills. Let's get your thoughts on a few of the big ones today, including electoral reform. Does this get through it all?
PATERSON: Well, we're still engaged in good faith negotiations with the government, but the ball is really in their court as to whether they choose to bring it forward today. I thought the most interesting thing Pete though, is this extraordinary list of 36 or 37 bills. I mean, I have not seen a guillotine list this long. For your viewers at home that means most of these bills will not be discussed or debated at all. There'll be no questions put, there'll be no debate about them, they will just be rammed through by the government. And what it shows is that the Prime Minister has no plans for the Parliament to return in February next year. He clearly plans to go to an election before then and I think the Australian people are entitled to ask what is it that he is trying to hide? Why doesn't he and Jim Chalmers want to deliver a budget? Is it because the budget will have eye watering deficits for the next financial year and every financial year to follow? Why won't they be upfront with the Australian people about the state of the nation's finances?
STEFANOVIC: Okay. Another one today, James, detainee laws. We've spoken about detainees pretty much all year. You've been very vocal about it. How do you see this one going?
PATERSON: Well, we've constructively negotiated with the government in the national interest to clean up the Labor Party's mess when it comes to this, whether it's released detainees, more arriving boats or the immigration system generally. They've made a complete mess of it and we are helping them clean it up because laws that they rushed through the Parliament before Christmas last year have turned out to be unconstitutional, despite their assurances, and we are helping them clean that up. We've also ensured that long standing issues facing the migration system are also going to be addressed. For example, the lawlessness in our immigration detention centres and legislation that we've twice put to the Parliament when we were in government that Labor twice blocked is now going to be brought forward and legislated to make those places secure and safe again.
STEFANOVIC: Okay. Let's just wrap up on Matt Cunningham's previous report there on the Port of Darwin, James. This has been controversial, as he rightly said, ever since it was signed off or ticked off by the NT government at the time. What are your thoughts on the financial position of LandBridge at the moment and whether it can continue to hold it?
PATERSON: Well, the Port of Darwin is a piece of critical infrastructure. It should not be in the hands of a potential strategic adversary. This is an opportunity to rectify that and the Albanese government cannot squander that opportunity. The law has been changed by the Morrison government in a very significant way in two respects. The Foreign Investment Review Board now has more powers than it ever has, and the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act gives the Minister for Home Affairs extraordinary powers when it comes to critical infrastructure like the Port of Darwin. So the Albanese government must act decisively to make sure that the Port of Darwin is returned to Australian hands or at least put in the hands of a company that doesn't pose a national security risk to Australia.
STEFANOVIC: So act how, James? Force a sale? Now that it's in financial trouble, does that make the job easier?
PATERSON: Yes, this presents an opportunity that wasn't available previously. Previously, the advice was that you have to compensate Landbridge with very significant compensation if you were to cancel the lease. But if Landbridge itself is in such financial difficulty that it voids the terms of the lease itself, then that lease can be cancelled without penalty, and that is exactly what should happen. The Foreign Investment Review Board should make sure that it does not again go into the hands of a potential strategic adversary.
STEFANOVIC: Alright, James Paterson, the Shadow Home Affairs Minister, appreciate your time as always James, chat to you soon.
ENDS
