Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

To the Leader of the Opposition's question I say that, as usual, he has missed the point. The point before this parliament today, and what the Leader of the Opposition needs to answer as a test of leadership, is whether he will join with the government in amending the Migration Act so that the government can pursue its determined arrangement with Malaysia to transfer asylum seekers. That is the question before the parliament today.

Coming into the parliament today, I did expect to see these kinds of tactics from the opposition, because the Leader of the Opposition has to face up to a test—whether or not he is just full of slogans and sound bites or whether he will take seriously questions of Australia's national security. That is the key question after the High Court case: whether or not the Leader of the Opposition will pursue a strategy to wreck in his political interest or whether he will seek to work in the national interest. That is before the parliament for consideration and something the Leader of the Opposition needs to answer.

On the question of refugee signatory countries, as the Leader of the Opposition is well aware, the government has entered into an arrangement with Malaysia. And in entering into that arrangement we have negotiated—

See this speech in context