Scott Morrison vows to hammer ‘soft’ Labor

Labor has rejected claims it would appease China and accused the government of harming the ­national interest.

Scott Morrison says he will maintain his national security blitz through to the election. Picture: Gary Ramage

Labor has rejected claims it would appease China and accused the government of harming the ­national interest as Scott Morrison pledged to target Anthony ­Albanese’s record on national ­security, crime and border protection until polling day.

The Prime Minister told The Australian on Tuesday he would maintain his national security blitz through to the election and make clear to voters the differences between the Coalition and Labor after hammering the Opposition Leader this week on China, deporting foreign-born criminals and maritime borders.

In a fiery question time, Mr Morrison labelled Labor deputy leader Richard Marles the “Manchurian Candidate” and refused Mr Albanese’s request to debate national security.

Mr Marles rejected the assertion that Beijing was backing a Labor victory. “What we’ve got is an act of desperation from a very desperate Prime Minister,’’ he said.

But Mr Morrison said his “first priority will always be strengthening the safety and security of the Australian people”.

After Mr Morrison forced Labor to back down on its long-held opposition to the government’s migration bill, which strengthens the government’s powers to deport dangerous foreign criminals, The Australian can reveal his national security brawl with Mr Albanese will continue when MPs return to parliament for the March 29 budget.

Rising tensions between the Prime Minister and Anthony Albanese erupted in question time. Picture: Gary Ramage

He will use a crackdown on domestic and international firearms traffickers – doubling existing firearms offences to 20 years and introducing new aggravated offences carrying lifetime sentences – to drive a wedge in Labor’s left faction, which traditionally opposes mandatory sentencing.

The showdown on firearms and violent gangs will occur in the final parliamentary week before a May election is called and with only two days remaining for the Senate to pass government deportation and firearms legislation.

Mr Morrison said bikies and gang members guilty of serious gun trafficking offences had escaped the mandatory sentencing punishments for terrorists, pedophiles and people-smugglers.

He blamed Labor and the Greens for blocking the government’s firearms legislation five times since 2014.

Labor deputy leader Richard Marles was labelled the ‘Manchurian Candidate’. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

“Mandatory sentencing is a significant deterrent stopping criminals from breaking the law and already applies to those guilty of committing terrorist acts, child sex offences and people-­smuggling operations,” he said.

“That’s why my government will again seek to introduce laws that fix this and after years of voting against it, Labor must decide who’s side they’re on. Are they with the Australian people or are they with The Greens?”

In 2017, the last time the ­Coalition introduced the firearms trafficking bill, the Senate amended the legislation to remove mandatory minimum sentences. When the government removed the amendment in the lower house, Labor voted against the bill.

Firearms are used in 22.2 per cent of homicides in Australia and it’s estimated there are more than 260,000 unregistered guns circulating across the country.

The Australian can also reveal the government will introduce legislation into parliament on Thursday to impose the toughest penalties on cyber criminals in the nation’s history. Hackers who use ransomware will face an increased maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, while those who target critical infrastructure will face maximum 25-year prison sentences.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews told The Australian the government’s cyber security legislation would give law enforcement agencies the tools they needed to “pursue and prosecute ransomware gangs, and track, freeze and seize their illegally and dishonestly acquired gains”.

“The Morrison government will not tolerate attacks on Australia’s critical infrastructure, small businesses or targeting the most vulnerable members of our community,” she said.

Rising tensions between Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese over national security erupted in question time on Wednesday after the Prime Minister said his government would “never be the preferred partner of a foreign government” and he would not be the candidate for countries who used threats and coercion against Australia.

Mr Marles, who was criticised by the government for a 2019 speech he delivered to at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, said national security has “fundamentally been a bipartisan issue in Australian politics”.

“It’s very much in the national interest that national security is an issue which is above the political fray,” he said. “What we’ve seen with the Prime Minister and the government desperately seeking to use national security as an issue in the election ... is not only desperate, it is very much not in Australia’s national interest.

“Fundamentally, it actually undermines our national security.”

He rejected claims that a Global Times opinion piece published this week had endorsed Labor as Beijing’s preferred candidate.

DFAT deputy-secretary Justin Heyhurst told a Senate estimates hearing that divisions in Australia were in Beijing’s interests.

The head of DFAT’s geostrategic group, Mr Heyhurst said: “It’s fair to say that the Chinese system seeks to exploit social and other divisions in countries to pursue its interests – that’s very ­apparent”.

Australia’s embassy in Beijing had not provided any reports over China’s views on the election. “There has been no communication on the Australian election from the embassy,” he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: BEN PACKHAM