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

The amendments are there for the opposition to see. Regarding the opposition's consideration of these amendments, they would put the minister for immigration in this government in the same position that the minister for immigration was when, under the Howard government, a determination was made to take people to Nauru, not then a signatory country to the refugee convention. No legislation was in place in Nauru. What was in place was a memorandum of understanding between governments. If, when the opposition was sitting on the government benches, that was viewed as perfectly satisfactory for them, I do find it a bit odd that now they are sitting on the opposition benches it is apparently no longer perfectly satisfactory for them. Those were the circumstances with Nauru.

Opposition members interjecting—

There is no amount of shaking of heads or interjecting that will change that fact. That is the history. That is what the Howard government did.

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