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

My thoughts, like the thoughts of the Leader of Opposition and I am sure all members of this House, will be with Australians who are today going towards a site in the seas to our north to assist in yet another rescue and recovery operation. I am disappointed that we do not have the opportunity here, because of the stance taken by the government over standing orders of this House, to enable a very important bill to be debated here.

I believe the consensus of all members of this parliament—with the exception of the Greens—in both this House and the other place is that offshore processing should take place in the at least 148 countries that have signed the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Support for that was outlined by none less than the Prime Minister before the last election. She stated before the last election that it was the government's policy to only send people for offshore processing to a country that had signed the refugee convention. Before we leave this place there is the opportunity to pass a bill that reflects that consensus and gives the government the protections and the powers to restore and strengthen control on our borders—to ensure that our borders are strong, uncompromised and unweakened by the continuation of the policies that we have seen since the proven measures of the Howard government were disestablished. I call on those opposite to allow that bill to be considered. (Time expired)

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