Labor is making cuts to defence and national security, making costly mistakes with border security and failing to provide leadership when it comes to community safety.
Australia faces the most dangerous security environment since World War Two.
Despite this, Labor has made more than $80 billion in cuts, delays and reprioritisations to our Defence budget. Recently, it also cancelled our $7 billion sovereign satellite program.
The previous Coalition government refused or cancelled over 10,000 visas. This included violent criminals, sex offenders and drug traffickers.
By contrast, Labor’s blunders have put Australians at risk.
The Government was caught flat footed by a High Court decision, resulting in hundreds of violent criminals being released into the community.
This included at least 14 murderers, 90 sex offenders and more than 130 violent offenders.
At least 90 have been charged with new offences after being released.1 The High Court later ruled Labor's rushed legislation to monitor and impose curfews on these criminals was invalid.
The Government has failed to use preventative detention powers to re-detain high-risk offenders more than 12 months after these laws were passed.
Labor’s Immigration Minister also blundered by ordering his department to take a softer approach to deporting foreign criminals sentenced to a year or more in prison.
This decision was known as “Direction 99” and meant an offender’s ties to Australia must be a primary consideration. This weakened the previous Government’s stance to prioritise the safety of the Australian community.2
At least 160 non-citizen criminals have been allowed to stay in Australia because of Labor’s soft approach.
This includes child rapists, domestic violence perpetrators and drug traffickers.
The ministers responsible for this mess (Clare O’Neil and Andrew Giles) were removed from their portfolios.
The Government granted tourist visas to over 3,000 people from the terrorist-controlled Gaza war zone, without even conducting security checks first.
Shockingly, antisemitic incidents from October 2023 to September 2024, have more than quadrupled compared to the previous year.3
The Government has failed to deal with this scourge of antisemitism, with antisemitic incidents skyrocketing under Labor.
The Government has also failed to provide leadership in developing uniform knife laws.
The Coalition will invest more in stronger defence and border security.
We will deport non-citizens who commit violent crimes. We will work with the states and territories to implement tougher knife laws and tighter bail laws. And we will enhance online safety for our children.