House debates
Tuesday, 15 March 2016
Questions without Notice
Asylum Seekers: Children
2:51 pm
Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source
We have a very serious threat when it comes to border protection because people smugglers are still putting people on boats. People still want to come to this country illegally. The government have been absolutely resolute in our stance in relation to this area of public policy—that is, we are not going to allow people to drown at sea; we are not going to allow boats to restart. But, if Mr Shorten is elected at the next election, rest assured that people, like the man coming to the dispatch box now— (Time expired)
Tibor Majlath
Posted on 19 Mar 2016 10:39 pm
"There have been no successful boat arrivals" is not quite the same as stopping the boats. The Minister admitted "We have a very serious threat when it comes to border protection because people smugglers are still putting people on boats. People still want to come to this country illegally." That's a curious admission.
So, the boats haven't stopped and are still coming but being turned back? Because of the strict secrecy no one knows what the real situation is. It seems smugglers are still taking money and putting refugees on boats only to be turned back. It means that lives are still being risked on such journeys. Just a matter of time before there are more deaths at sea. But we won't know because it is government policy to 'stop the boats', so the government doesn't talk about operational policies with the aim of keeping people smugglers in the dark. Really!? About what?
Under this curious blackout, new asylum seekers get any and all information only from people smugglers who probably lie to their customers to make money out of their misery. So why would smugglers care what the Australian government does?
Again, what is the purpose of all this secrecy besides keeping us all in the dark?