Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. I would say in response to his question that, as he would know, people-smuggling has been a challenge for this country for 20 or 30 years—in fact, going back many decades. I also say to the honourable gentleman that, in the period that he occupied the government benches, the Howard government saw nearly 15,000 people arrive in this country by boat—altogether nearly 250 boats. One of the elements of policy which I assume he wishes this government to return to is temporary protection visas. I draw his attention to the fact that 90 per cent plus of those granted temporary protection visas by the then government ended up settling in Australia.

I, therefore, draw the honourable gentleman’s attention to the fact that this is a problem which has been with Australia for a long time. It will be with Australia for a long time into the future because it is always driven by what is happening in our region and the wider world, as it confronts other countries as well. Our policy is unapologetically tough but humane. We will continue to implement that policy into the future.

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