Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I will start again. My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to the recent surge in the number of boat people attempting to reach Australia and the statement by the Chief of Mission in Indonesia of the International Organisation for Migration, Mr Steve Cook:

People smugglers have clearly noted that there has been a change in policy and they’re testing the envelope.

Given the fact that the government has stood down half of Australia’s patrol boats for two months over Christmas and will have only around 320 naval personnel on active duty in Australia over this period, isn’t the government giving a green light to people smugglers?

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