Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has offered to work with the Albanese government on new measures to protect Australians, including politicians, while calling for more spending on national security and intelligence.
Speaking to reporters at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday, 26 October, Taylor said the Coalition would support “sensible measures” and pointed to enhanced screening of people applying for visas or arriving in Australia as an area needing additional attention.
“We’ll always work with the government on that,” Taylor said. He added that the Coalition had already identified areas where it believed national security and intelligence funding should increase, with particular emphasis on visa screening.
Taylor’s remarks came amid a wider debate in Canberra about political safety and conduct following the serious injuries sustained by independent MP Helen Haines in an alleged vehicle attack in Wangaratta. Parliament paid tribute to Haines on Monday; Australia By Aussie has reported on the parliamentary proceedings here.
The Opposition Leader also criticised Labor’s spending priorities, arguing that the government was expanding the size of the public sector while failing to control expenditure. He said the Coalition wanted stronger investment in security alongside a tighter approach to government spending.
Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson said the Coalition would seek to bring the budget under control and reduce what he described as “climate bureaucracy”, “house bureaucracy” and “corporate welfare”. He also linked rising household costs and mortgage pressure to the government’s spending decisions, although those claims were political arguments rather than an independently established explanation for interest-rate movements.
Wilson said households and small businesses needed greater confidence in their economic outlook as living costs remained a concern. The Coalition has not, in the remarks provided, set out a new detailed package or timetable for the security measures Taylor referenced.
The government’s response to the proposed measures, and whether any new screening or security changes will be introduced, had not been established in the material available at the time of reporting.
