Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. That policy was described as not working by none other than the member for Griffith, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Minister for Foreign Affairs thought he was so convincing in his demolition of the Malaysian people swap that he should become Prime Minister again. That is what we know about this government and that minister's commitment to that policy. Then of course it was crowned with the let-them-in, let-them-out policy of the Greens, which the government introduced in late November of 2011 and which was followed by the biggest summer of boat arrivals on record—2,100 people turned up on boats in the most dangerous period of the year following the government's decision to go to mainstream community release.

I received an email not that long ago from one of my constituents who was reflecting on the government's performance in border protection. She wrote that 'this government is run by muppets'. I think that is the frustration and concern that is out there in the community about the government's handling of border protection issues. They remind me, whether it is the Minister for Immigration or his predecessor or the Prime Minister herself, of the Great Gonzo, who would get up and blow his trumpet at the end of the Muppet Show theme. It would blow up in his face every single time he did it. That has been the history of border protection policy under Labor. Their immigration policy and their border protection policy would make the Great Gonzo proud. They are muppets for many other reasons. We know muppets are controlled by faceless men. That is something the government is pretty well aware of and the Prime Minister certainly knows that. There were also the two muppets who used to sit up there in the bleachers, not unlike the two older members in the chamber sitting up there in the bleachers—

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