Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Hansard source

'Complete rubbish!' There's a refutation! You're doing really well there, Minister! What we have in front of us now is a resolution, an amendment, to what the government has moved that does not in any way defy the information provided to the House by the Speaker, that allows the House to assert its rights in the same way that the Howard government did in 1996. It also deals with the other issue with respect to the Governor-General and the appropriation through the amendment that will come shortly.

Every legal issue raised by the Attorney-General has now been addressed. This all could have been done in an orderly way had the Attorney-General not been so determined to keep this secret to get the element of surprise. When the way to deal with this is already contained within House of Representatives Practice, it doesn't take long to basically copy a resolution from the Howard government.

I urge the House today to vote for the amendment, to vote for the motion as amended and to then vote for the amendments which will be used, because the difference they will make is simple: if someone is unwell they will be able to get medical care. When were we ever told that part of protecting our borders, as they say, was making sure that people who are unwell stay that way? When were we told that that was a principle? When did it suddenly become a pillar of border protection that people who are unwell need to be denied medical care? The amendment will deliver nothing more than that. I urge the House to support the amendment and to support the subsequent amendments that would then be moved.

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