Security second to shoring up Muslim vote for Tony Burke

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke holds a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Anthony Albanese’s reshuffle is a return to failures of the past, reveals his weakness as leader and indulges in ideology at the expense of the national interest.

Most remarkable is his promotion of Tony Burke to the home affairs portfolio that now exists in name only. Before the election Labor made no mention of its secret plan to gut home affairs. But in changes just days after Labor was elected, and before ministers were sworn in, it did exactly that. The Australian Federal Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and financial crimes regulator Austrac were all removed from the Home Affairs Department and shifted into the Attorney-General’s Department under Mark Dreyfus.

It left new minister Clare O’Neil with just her department, ASIO and Border Force. Immediately, it caused headaches. The time taken to list terrorist organisations blew out now that two departments, Attorney-General’s and Home Affairs, and two ministers, O’Neil and Dreyfus, were involved. From the few days it took for ministerial consideration under the previous government and Home Affairs arrangements, the time for a new listing or relisting of a terrorist organisation blew out to weeks and months.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus

Most recently, the government took nearly six months to list the Houthis, long behind our allies such as the US, as the advice and letters went back and forth over months between the two portfolios. That may be why the Prime Minister has now effectively administered last rites to the home affairs portfolio, shifting ASIO to the Attorney-General’s Department as well. Labor, and in particular Dreyfus, has always hated the home affairs construct and wanted to return to the failed model of the past rightly ditched by Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.

But this new arrangement will cause only headaches. Now the Attorney-General is politically accountable for enforcement and operational outcomes of our key domestic intelligence and security agencies, and also their independent oversight and legal compliance. It will require Dreyfus, when considering an application for a warrant from an agency such as ASIO, to weigh up its legal compliance and the operational imperatives of granting it. This is an inherent conflict and one reason the Turnbull government separated oversight from operations.

It leaves Burke with the wreckage of a portfolio. Home affairs has no operational agencies to deliver outcomes on counter-terrorism or foreign interference. It’s now effectively the immigration and cyber security portfolio but doesn’t even have key cyber agencies.

Burke comes with his own baggage. On his watch as immigration minister in the disastrous Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era, 83 boats carrying 6634 illegal maritime arrivals showed up in just 80 days. Children in detention peaked at 1992 while he was minister. It sends a shocking message to people smugglers to return to a failed minister from a tragic era when 1200 people lost their lives at sea.

Already in two years under this government 19 boats have attempted the dangerous journey to Australia and at least three have reached our mainland or territories – a previously almost unheard of event. It’s no surprise, though, as Labor has failed to deliver maritime patrol days or aerial surveillance hours, down 12 per cent and 20 per cent respectively on their watch so far.

Anthony Albanese

Burke has been one of parliament’s loudest pro-Palestinian voices. Along with his colleagues in southwestern Sydney, Burke is nonetheless under intense pressure from the Muslim Votes Matter group, which rates him as weak on Gaza and is threatening to back an independent against him.

But now we have to rely on Burke to ensure proper identity and security checks are conducted on the thousands of Gaza residents seeking to come to Australia.

Under O’Neil and immigration minister Andrew Giles, more than 2000 visas were granted in the first few months following Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. As officials admitted in Senate estimates, on average they were approved in 24 hours. Some were granted as quickly as one hour. It’s hard to imagine how you can do any checks in such a rush, or that Burke would be a more demanding minister to make sure they happen.

The Prime Minister is clearly more worried about Labor’s political standing in southwestern Sydney than he is about Australia’s national security. Australians deserve better. They deserve a strong prime minister who will always put our national security first, and one who will restore the home affairs portfolio to the successful structure under the previous government.

James Paterson is opposition home affairs and cyber security spokesman, shadow cabinet secretary and a Liberal senator for Victoria.