Andrew Hastie
Canning · Liberal Party · Australia
“My question is to the Minister for Housing. I refer to the minister's previous answer. When did the minister first become aware that the government's changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing imposed a new death tax on widows, divorcees and victims of domestic violence?”
“In many cases, these tariffs apply to goods that already enter Australia duty-free under free trade agreements or other concession arrangements.”
“It is a practical contribution to Ukraine's economic resilience, which is so important to their overall war effort, and it is also a symbolic demonstration that Australia continues to stand with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The measure is appropriately targeted.”
“The first is the removal of a further 497 so-called nuisance tariffs from 1 July 2026. This follows the first tranche of nuisance tariff removals in 2024, when 457 tariffs were abolished by having their existing rate of duty reset to 'free'.”
“This the bill is intended to produce compliance savings for business and administrative efficiencies for government, and that is welcome, but there remains limited public detail about the overall revenue impact, the sectors most exposed to the changes, and the expected value of the compliance savings for importers and Customs brokers.”
“Before the last election, the Prime Minister ruled out changes to taxes not once, not twice, not three times. In his own words, he ruled out tax changes 50 times. The Prime Minister was clear as day—no new taxes. People took him at his word because, apparently, his word is his bond.”
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“The new process required the Attorney-General's and Home Affairs departments to ping-pong advice and submissions between each other and their ministers. As a consequence, the time taken for ministerial consideration of a terrorism listing completely blew out. In one embarrassing stuff-up, the former minister for home affairs was left out of a terrorist listing altogether, being completely absent from a terrorist relisting process. You can't make this stuff up. It's the sort of thing you watch on shows like Yes Minister or Utopia . But here we are; this is the Labor government. These kinds of basic errors on one of the most fundamental counterterrorism tools never happened under the previous Home Affairs construct. But the Prime Minister decided he hadn't done enough damage quite yet.”
“The only operational national security agency which remained with Home Affairs was ASIO. These machinery-of-government changes were never put to the people. They were never taken to an election. They were never discussed with the Australian people. The Prime Minister stood idly by while his Attorney-General gathered power to himself and dismantled an important department central to Australia's national security, and the consequences were serious and immediate. Take, for instance, the listing of a terrorist organisation. This was a straightforward process under the coalition. If there was a terrorist organisation that needed listing, we got it done. We ran a low-drag high-speed operation. But on Anthony Albanese's watch, the process became convoluted and sluggish.”
“I remember it very clearly because I was the chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security that shepherded that legislation through the parliament, working very closely, in fact, with people who were very senior, like the former Attorney-General. Now, the Department of Home Affairs, with elements of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, was consolidated with other counterterror, counterespionage, cyber and national security functions. But, under the thumb of the former Attorney-General, the Prime Minister undermined Australia's national security by gutting the Home Affairs portfolio in 2022, moving the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre into the Attorney-General's portfolio.”
“It gives me no pleasure to move this motion. Our national security is such a fundamental job of the Commonwealth government that it's troubling that we even have to talk about this today, but here we are. We are dealing with a monumentally incompetent Labor government led by the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and we're calling it out today. We're calling it out because we have seen a debacle over the last three years. From its very first day in office, the Albanese government set about demolishing the national security architecture that was established to protect Australians. I'm talking about the Department of Home Affairs, which was established in 2017.”
“I move: (1) notes that: (a) the Government prioritised party politics over the protection of Australians by dismantling the Home Affairs portfolio after the 2022 election; (b) only the Opposition took a commitment to the 2025 election to undo the Government's damage and restore Home Affairs to its rightful place as the preeminent domestic national security policy and operations portfolio; and (c) the decision to reconstitute the Home Affairs portfolio following the election, and the Prime Minister's acknowledgement that there were issues with information sharing during the Dural caravan incident are an admission that the national security architecture that was put in place by dismantling the Home Affairs portfolio failed at a critical time; and (2) calls on the Government to apologise for putting party politics over Australia's national security by changing the Home Affairs portfolio three times in three years in a pointless factional tug-of-war.”
“Our infrastructure is under pressure, essential services from schools and hospitals are stretched thin and Australians are locked out of the housing market. Many are house poor, spending most of their income on rent or mortgages. Labor talk about a housing supply crisis, but this is a housing demand crisis driven by unsustainable immigration. It's that simple. We must act. Net overseas migration must come down. Our first allegiance is to all Australian citizens and making sure they have a roof over their heads.”
“Many young Australians have lost hope of owning a home. And, if they can't build a home, it's very hard to start a family. That might, in part, explain the collapse of our fertility rate to 1.5 births per woman, the lowest in history. Yet, Australia is growing rapidly, but it's not because we're having more children. So what's driving our growth? The answer is net overseas migration, or the NOM. Historically, the 20-year average for the NOM from the year 2000 to 2019 was about 190,000 people per year. Yet, post-COVID, net overseas migration has exploded. In 2023-24, the NOM was 446,000 people, the largest group being temporary students, with 207,000 arrivals. In the last two years, we've added nearly a million extra people to our population. The Australian people are feeling the impact of Labor's immigration policy.”
“Our roads are congested for the same reason. Immigration under Labor is out of control. There isn't enough public transport, and my new constituents in Singleton, Golden Bay, Karnup and Secret Harbour are still waiting for the Karnup train station to be built. The Labor member for Brand has had years to get it done. The sweet spot was over the last three years. All the decision-makers were in place: she had a Labor premier; she had a Labor prime minister. Yet she couldn't get the job done. Well, I'm here to deliver for those forgotten Australians. I fought hard and I got the Lakelands train station built and funded, despite Labor resistance. I will get the Karnup train station delivered for my new constituents.”
“Labor's cost-of-living crisis has smashed people in outer-metro and regional Australia. Prices are up everywhere. Groceries are up, power bills are up, health premiums are up, mortgage payments and rents are up, running costs for vehicles are up, and Labor's four-wheel drive and ute tax will drive them up further. If you tow a boat, a caravan, a horse float or a trailer, you will pay more. If you drive a ute for work or an SUV for your family, you will pay more. The truth is people are hurting with Labor's cost-of-living crisis. They've been forgotten by Labor. In Mandurah, we're still waiting for the Peel Health Campus to be upgraded. We have a massive housing shortage. Young couples are priced out of our local market as they are forced to compete with cashed-up foreign investors and temporary visa holders.”
“This is why we need this bill, this is why the coalition supports this bill and this is why the coalition will always act in the national interest and take the necessary action to keep Australians safe. So we will be supporting this bill, and I commend it to the House.”
“The incident at Avalon also underscores that we still have serious risks posed by individuals, like that person who tried to get a shotgun on the aircraft, and we need to make sure that the legislative framework is fit for purpose to allow the government and industry to address these risks. We've seen this at Heathrow Airport in London, where an electrical substation caught fire, disrupting a lot of flights; passengers were stranded, and take-offs and landings were cancelled, disrupting travel plans for hundreds of thousands of people. It's just a reminder of how government has a really important role in securing and protecting our critical infrastructure as a public good and how our airports, particularly, are vulnerable to external hazards.”
“So the coalition reiterates the PJCIS's call for government to ensure that the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre is well equipped to make sure they can do their job and protect Australians and the Australian transport and maritime industry. Finally, we welcome the amendments that government is moving to address key recommendations of the PJCIS report which go to the creation of a scalable penalty regime and inserting an additional safeguard to the security directions power by requiring the secretary to notify the minister as soon as practicable after a security direction is issued. It's clear there are a number of growing threats to Australia's transport sector, including, probably foremost, the risk of cyber incidents.”
“That means that smaller airports will not have certain compliance obligations as they relate to cybersecurity, natural hazards and supply chains. Industry also raised concerns about duplicated reporting requirements, and I welcome the government's assurance that cyber-incident reports will only need to be made once, through the single reporting portal, to avoid duplication. The PJCIS also recommended that the Department of Home Affairs is adequately resourced to fulfil all of its responsibilities as a regulator. We are concerned that the department has not received additional resourcing, given that its responsibilities will expand with the passage of this bill.”
“I note that industry stakeholders raised concerns through the committee inquiry into the bill, particularly regarding the regulatory burden and disproportionate impost on regional airports. The PJCIS report recommended the regulations arising from the bill provide greater clarity to industry on the reforms, which should be done as part of a genuine, good-faith consultation with industry. I welcome the commitment we have received from the government that there will be a consultation period of 12 months for the regulations associated with this legislation, followed by a 24-month transition period to implement the reforms. We also welcome the additional clarity provided regarding the tiered all-hazards security obligations.”
“This review considered Australia's aviation and maritime security settings and made recommendations which sought to ensure Australia's security settings remained fit for purpose and supported Australia's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill will amend the relevant acts, to give effect to the elements of the independent review which go to updating legislative and policy frameworks. This bill comes after the former coalition government also introduced the Transport Security Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2022, which sought to address some of the elements canvassed in the current bill. However, that bill lapsed with the dissolution of the previous parliament. This went through the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.”
“It introduces an all-hazards security framework that will require entities to proactively identify and mitigate risks to physical security, personal security, cybersecurity and supply chain resilience to natural hazards, enhancing testing and compliance measures, strengthening enforcement tools, clarifying port security definitions to ensure relevant infrastructure and operations are covered under the regulations and simplifying regulations for vessels, allowing exemptions for vessels that infrequently travel overseas. We have a strong legacy in this area. In September 2021, the former coalition government commissioned an independent review into Australia's aviation and maritime transport security settings, led by Ms Kerri Hartland.”
“This bill makes a number of amendments to the Aviation Transport Security Act and the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003 to better protect aviation and maritime transport against unlawful interference. This is all about securing the industry and keeping Australians safe. It does this by amending the definition of 'unlawful interference' to capture a broader variety of acts, including cybersecurity incidents, and introduces mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting.”
“The coalition rises to support this bill and the government amendments. The Transport Security Amendment (Security of Australia's Transport Sector) Bill 2024 seeks to strengthen Australia's transport security framework, to ensure government and industry can manage current and emerging risks in a rapidly evolving threat environment. The debate of this bill is timely. Australia was shocked earlier this month when a teenager was detained after he breached security at Avalon Airport and boarded a flight armed with a shotgun. It is to the great credit of the quick-thinking passengers and crew that no-one was injured in this incident. But it was also a sobering reminder that we cannot take our security for granted.”
“I want to recognise the important work of staff at the Department of Home Affairs, who have been working on this important reform for many years. It's good to see this work finally coming to fruition. I note this bill was only introduced to the House yesterday, so we are still working through the detail. We will ensure the bill is fit for purpose in achieving its stated objectives. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time.”
“We support the policy intent of this bill. Very simply, we want Australians to have a better experience at the other end of their journey to the United States with expedited entry through Customs in the United States. Streamlined travel arrangements will benefit frequent travellers to the United States and promote better business linkages and people-to-people links. The strategic background to this is AUKUS, a massive, multigenerational nation-building endeavour that will see a lot of people coming from and going to the US. I think it's really important that we start streamlining our military, our industrial base and our government to support this, but also arrangements like this will really facilitate those people-to-people movements.”
“To make this happen, the bill also makes a number of consequential and supporting amendments to the AusCheck Act, including new definitions in subsection 4(1) of the act to support the amendments relating to GEP background checks; amending the existing definition of 'AusCheck scheme personal information' to include information obtained by an agency for the purposes of GEP background checks; amending the definition of 'background check' in section 5 of the act to expand the types of background checks permissible under the AusCheck scheme for the GEP, which also includes a check for certain offences under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982, which will meet the USA's eligibility criteria for the program; and finally, inserting a new section, 10AB, in the AusCheck Act which provides a regulation-making power to prescribe the matters in regulation that are to be covered by the AusCheck scheme when conducting background checks in connection with the GEP.”
“When implemented, the Global Entry program will allow Australians access to expedited immigration and Customs channels when entering the United States. The bill achieves this objective by expanding the regulation-making power in the AusCheck Act to allow for the expansion of the AusCheck scheme for the purpose of GEP background checks.”
“Tourism is something that will continue—we see a lot of sporting connections and travel through that—and our industry, of course. We want to work out ways we can make that travel a little easier, which is why the US Global Entry program is important. That's why this bill, the AusCheck Amendment (Global Entry Program) Bill 2025, expands Australia's participation in the US Global Entry program. What is the program? Eligible citizens of trusted partner countries can have access to faster entry and US passports, and we want to make this available to Australians and make life easier for them. This bill amends the AusCheck Act 2007 to establish the legislative basis for the fulfilment of Australia's background-checking obligations under the United States Global Entry program.”
“We have a very deep connection with the United States. We have a political connection; they're one of the oldest continuing democracies. We have business connections, diplomatic connections and government connections through our military and intelligence agencies, but we also have a deep connection to the United States with people-to-people links. I say this from personal experience with my own family, my wife being an American and my three children being dual citizens. We travel to the US frequently, like many Australians. We're going to see more and more travel to the United States over the coming decade, particularly with AUKUS as we build out our industrial base, share technology and embed Australians with the United States military enterprise.”
“Finally, David Bolt is the Liberal for Murray-Wellington. Murray-Wellington is growing fast, but Labor has failed to plan for that growth. Towns like Pinjarra, Dwellingup and Waroona have been left behind. David will fight to upgrade the Peel Health Campus and push for a new public hospital to serve the 450,000 people moving into our region. David's committed to major road upgrades, including the Pinjarra Heavy Haulage Deviation, and opening up new housing opportunities. This election is our chance to send a message to Roger Cook and WA Labor. They've taken our vote for granted for far too long. WA Liberals Owen Mulder, Kaye Seeber, Mark Jones, Paul Mansfield and David Bolt are ready to serve, and I ask that you support them.”
“It needs real infrastructure: widening the Kwinana Freeway and finally delivering the long-awaited Karnup train station. Labor has been talking about the station for years but keeps kicking the can down the road. It's time for them to get it done. Mark knows that we need better health care and more police. He's running because he's sick of watching his community get ignored while billions are wasted elsewhere. Paul Mansfield is the Liberal for Darling Range. As a father and a specialist teacher, Paul understands the pressures families face. He's focused on real improvements: unlocking affordable housing in Mundijong, upgrading local sports facilities and delivering better support for volunteer emergency services, particularly our volunteer firefighters. I know Paul will be a tireless advocate for Darling Range.”
“Owen will fight for the Peel Health Campus and a stronger police presence in our community as well as for a new high school in Dawesville. 'Your vote matters in Dawesville,' is what I'll say to my constituents, and Owen Mulder is the local champion we need to deliver for us. Kaye Seeber is the Liberal for Mandurah. Kaye is a respected community leader with a heart for service, running WA Mums Cottage to support local families in need. Kaye understands the real challenges people face and will be a strong voice for Mandurah, fighting to fix our hospital, restore proper policing and ensure that services keep up with our growing city. Mark Jones is the Liberal for Secret Harbour. Secret Harbour is growing, but Labor isn't keeping up.”
“We're at a crossroads over in Western Australia, and, after nearly eight years of Labor, what do we have to show for it? A health system in crisis, rising crime and a cost-of-living crisis making life harder for Australians. That's why I'm proud to support five outstanding local Liberal candidates for the state election on 8 March who will fight for their communities and bring good governance back to Western Australia. Owen Mulder, the Liberal candidate for Dawesville, is a neighbour of mine in Halls Head. Owen knows what matters most: fixing Peel Health Campus and improving community safety. Labor promised hospital upgrades and more police, but they haven't delivered. Instead, they wasted time and money on the disastrous Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act and multibillion-dollar blowouts on Perth train lines.”
“To support the proposed amendments of the prohibited imports regulations this bill contains amendments to the Customs Act that will enhance seizure and disposal powers and support the Australian Border Force to effectively administer and manage engineered stone goods at the border, once the import prohibition commences. This is important legislation because it will protect Australian workers. One of the most important things for people is their health. All workers should be able to go and earn a day's wage, doing their job, vocation, profession or whatever it may be, and not be concerned about incurring serious injury or health challenges as a result of the work. That's why we support this bill. That's why we're keen to see it through. The purpose of it is to protect Australian workers.”
“In establishing the taskforce, we committed $5.1 million to support the work of the taskforce, including funding for new research to better understand, prevent and treat preventable occupational lung diseases. This is a really serious concern affecting many workers, and that's why we support this Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill 2024. The purpose of the amendment is to amend the Customs Act of 1901, to allow for the expedited seizure and disposal of prohibited engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs, because of the engineered stone products that are imported into Australia. To support the domestic use prohibition, a ban on the importation of engineered stone came into effect this year, through changes to the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956.”
“All Australians, regardless of their occupation or how they're engaged, have a right to healthy and safe work. The rapid emergence of new cases of accelerated silicosis, particularly amongst those working with engineered stone, is of deep concern. The coalition has been aware of this for some time. The previous government took action. Back in 2019, it established the National Dust Disease Taskforce, as part of a $5 million election commitment, to investigate the growing number of silicosis cases in individuals working in the engineered stone industry and develop a national approach for the prevention, early identification, control and management of occupational dust diseases in Australia.”