Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

You have had five minutes and you've asked probably 15 or 20 minutes in that. You've interjected throughout. You should take this process seriously, Shadow Minister, and you should take your responsibilities seriously. I think you do understand how the visa system operates, not least because you are a member of parliament—and you've been a cabinet minister for a large component of that time. You know very well the framework which operates under the act and the regulations. If you don't, perhaps you could ask the shadow minister for home affairs, who is across these issues. I really think you should be careful in making some of these remarks.

If you want to know what Labor's policies are you can look at our platform. It was debated publicly and has been available online for quite some time. You can have regard to that. You can also have regard to the decisions which are set out in this budget, which inform the priorities that we have put forward in the national interest in responding to the challenges that are before us.

The thing is that in so many of these areas there needn't be any partisan rancour or division, because it's so obvious that getting our visa system moving is in the national interest. It's something that businesses have been crying out for. It's something that families have been crying out for. What we see from the opposition is, yes, to criticise where you need to but to recognise there is work to be done in the national interest and to have some regard for that but particularly, in criticising me, not to take cheap shots at public servants.

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