Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, it is probably higher now but in those days it was a million people. So Australia can afford to pick and choose. I do not really think that our system should allow people who would seek to sink a ship and cause people’s deaths, or people who are prepared to riot and endanger life and property, should be eligible for consideration as possible migrants to Australia.

The government has been soft on border protection, but it is not too late for the government to ring the President of Nauru and say, ‘We would like to access the facilities paid for by the Australian taxpayer and open an immigration detention centre on Nauru.’ Nauru is a country which does have certain economic challenges and I am sure that Nauru would benefit from the inflow of funds which would occur were the Nauru solution to return to operation. It was very successful when the former government used Nauru. Nauru is a friendly nation not far from Australia.

But it is very important that we send a powerful message to people smugglers and to unauthorised arrivals that they are not welcome in Australia. As a country we should do whatever we can do to stamp out this evil trade, to prevent people from having their lives placed at risk and, of course, to stop people jumping the queue.

Apart from Canada, Australia has the most generous humanitarian refugee program anywhere in the world—and when I say ‘apart from Canada’, I think that is on a per capita basis. The problem is that the government, when it allows people to come in via the back door, is reducing the opportunities for people who legitimately apply to be received on a humanitarian basis in this country. The reports have shown that some 135 boats arrived in 2010 with a total of 6,889 passengers and crew. So far, 2011 has seen five boats with 326 passengers. This compares with just 32 boats in the entire period from 2002-03 to 2007-08 under the previous Liberal-National government.

The Combating the Financing of People Smuggling and Other Measures Bill 2011 certainly has laudable aims, and the opposition does not oppose it. But, at this late hour, the opposition does plead that the Prime Minister should pick up the telephone, ring the President of Nauru, and solve this problem once and for all. Until we send a powerful message to people smugglers that Australia is closed to their evil trade, the boats will continue to come, the misery will flow and people’s lives will continue to be lost.

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