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

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I am endeavouring to answer the member's question because it is a question about an important policy area, a policy area that goes to our core national interest. The answer to the member's question is as follows. The member is probably aware that we do have already in detention asylum seekers, and so we do need detention capacity for asylum seekers who are currently in Australia. The member may also be aware that we use detention capacity for more than asylum seekers who arrive unauthorised by boat. We use detention capacity for a wide variety of purposes related to immigration management, so people are detained for other reasons.

Can I say to the member as well that the question that will be introduced before the parliament next week will not be a question about whether or not she believes in the Malaysia arrangement. That is a matter for her, and she may choose on the weekend to consult her constituents about their views about national security, their views about border protection and their views about refugee and asylum seeker policy. But there will be nothing in this parliament that asks her to vote on the question of whether or not she endorses the arrangement with Malaysia. The vote in this parliament will be on amendments to the Migration Act which would enable the member, if she was a member of the government, if she ever served in a future government in the capacity of minister for immigration—

See this speech in context