Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, welcome to the Federation Chamber. It is good to see you here. I know how busy you are and what an effective job you are doing in your portfolio. The Immigration and Border Protection portfolio has a direct influence on things that happen in my electorate, and the coalition's success in stopping the boats has definitely had successful flow-on effects in my electorate of Swan.

The success of the Operation Sovereign Borders means that the Perth Immigration Residential Housing, which was based in Redcliffe in my electorate in Western Australia can now be closed. This is on track to happen by the end of this year. This facility was first opened in April 2007. As part of the federal budget, the Turnbull government announced that the Redcliffe housing would be one of the four detention facilities in Australia to close, saving $39.1 million over four years, which enhances the budget, of course. This is just one of the many success stories that show how stopping the boats has had dividends for the nation's finances. It is also a reminder of the importance of border security to this country. Our border security is one of the finest in the world, protecting Australia not just against illegal arrivals but also from numerous other threats such as drugs, weapons and fire arms. I have had the good fortune to go out to Perth airport and see the massive amount of illegal weapons, drugs and other things that have been taken by customs agents during their processing of packages coming into Australia.

Two days ago we received news that the Australian Border Force in Western Australia had actually intercepted an international mail package from China. Contained in this package were 335 vials of performance- and image-enhancing drugs. The Border Force investigators executed a search warrant at this man's address and subsequently found prohibited weapons. Minister, this highlights the Border Force's commitment to protecting Australia from all types of threats.

This government's ability to close the Perth Immigration Residential Housing at Redcliffe is also a reminder of the unthinkable chaos that occurred when the previous Labor government weakened Australia's borders, leading to 50,000 illegal arrivals on 800 boats and to over 1,200 deaths at sea. Minister, under Labor, 10,000 people, including 2,000 children, entered detention. In the September update of Operation Sovereign Borders, no illegal maritime arrivals were transferred to Australian immigration authorities and no illegal maritime arrivals were transferred to the regional processing centres. Stopping the people smugglers has been a key part of our border security. Indonesian authorities recently arrested one person for their alleged facilitator involvement in people-smuggling activities. The coalition works with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to continue the delivery of counter-people-smuggling efforts with counterpart agencies in Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. We also have Australian Border Force officers posted to these places to coordinate efforts to keep people smugglers at bay—and people smugglers they are.

In 2008, when I first came into parliament, I attended a citizenship ceremony and met with one of the refugees from Afghanistan. His particular story was as follows. When I asked him how he got to Australia, he said he had arrived by boat during the Howard years. It was one of the three boats that arrived after the policy on turning the boats back was implemented. I asked him, 'How did you find the people smugglers?' He said: 'I didn't find the people smugglers. They actually came to our village and promised that they could get us into Australia.' I said, 'What did that cost you?' He said, 'It cost US$10,000.' I said, 'Did you weigh up the risks?' He said, 'Yeah, it was quite risky, but the people smugglers assured us they could get us into Australia.' So he paid the $10,000 and eventually arrived in Australia on one of the three boats that actually got into Australia. At the end, I said, 'So you found a way to beat the system.' He agreed, 'Yes, we did find a way to beat the system.' That is a story from one of the refugees who came in at that time, actually confirming that it is the people smugglers' trade and nothing more than that.

Minister, by stopping these boats and the people smugglers, this coalition has stopped the flow of illegal arrivals into detention centres. There is broad support for a strong immigration program in this country, as long as it is through legal means. I know we still have a few people in Nauru and on Manus, but we have reduced those numbers. There are only 873 people in the Manus Regional Processing Centre and even fewer people in the Nauru Regional Processing Centre—well below the 10,000 people whom Labor put in detention.

Minister, if you get a chance, I would like you to comment on the article today in TheAustralian regarding the ABC and the havoc they are causing on Nauru by making false allegations. Also, how has the government been able, in our budget, to close more detention centres?

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