Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

Why doesn’t the Prime Minister call the President of Nauru? The coalition will. The coalition will pick up the phone and speak to the President of Nauru. We will introduce third-country processing of all illegal boat arrivals on Nauru. We will do that once elected. We will reintroduce temporary protection visas for illegal entrants and apply mutual obligation to payment of benefits. We will presume against refugee status for those who are believed to have deliberately discarded their identity documentation. We will return failed asylum seekers to their country of origin. We will restore the single case officer appeal process for asylum. We will provide priority processing for offshore asylum applicants over illegal arrivals. We will restore the requirement for onshore asylum applications to be made within 45 days of arrival. We will introduce mandatory minimum sentences for people-smuggling crimes and longer sentences for aggravated offences. We will introduce a full private sponsorship program for offshore asylum applications, and we will oppose the introduction of complementary protection, which widens the grounds for asylum seekers to make successful onshore claims.

All of this, as coalition policy, has been succinctly explained, presented and presided over by the member for Cook, Scott Morrison, many times. This has been out in the public domain as the coalition’s policy. It is clear. It is concise. There is no ambiguity as to what the coalition will do to stop illegal people-smuggling. We will take the product away. We will not rely on bills that simply try to spin a title, no matter how effective the bill may be—as indeed this one, agreed in principle, is in dealing with the financing of those who would seek to gain, with criminal intent, an advantage from the use of remittances and the moving of money. We will take real, tangible action. And I guarantee you, Mr Deputy Speaker: we will stop the boats.

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