Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, my question is to the Prime Minister, and I refer the Prime Minister to this table, which graphically illustrates the incredible surge in people-smuggling activity from August 2008, when this government began dismantling the strong border protection policies of the Howard coalition. Mr Speaker, how can the Prime Minister continue to maintain that his government’s policies have had no impact whatsoever in the incredible luring to the new market of people smuggling coming into Australia? Australia is the new destination.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I always welcome questions from the member for Murray because she has been such a consistent participant in this debate, has she not, member for Kooyong? She has been so consistent in her principles on this matter, hasn’t she, member for Kooyong? She has never changed her position on these matters, has she, member for Kooyong? No, not once: not last year, not when she said in response to the government’s policies on the abolition of the Pacific Solution, ‘Do you support this, member for Murray? ‘I do, I do, I do.’ But suddenly, roll the clock on 12 months, a few things then beckon: (1) the challenge to her position on the frontbench against the contingency that the Leader of the Opposition may no longer be with us—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. Mr Speaker, you have ruled before that ministers answering questions about matters for which they have no responsibility are not in order and are not relevant. Clearly, commenting on the member for Murray’s position on the frontbench has nothing whatsoever to do with the question—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat! If in fact the point of order was about a question, the Manager of Opposition Business would have been correct. But again, the rules for questions do not cover the rules for answers as at this time. Hopefully, the House will get around to considering this. But before the member rose on the point of order, I think the Prime Minister was making his preliminary remarks and will now direct himself to the matters of the question.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was just passing my good wishes again to the member for Murray and welcoming her contribution to the debate. Mr Speaker, the member for Murray points to numbers. In this place, for the last week or so that this debate has been going on, I have said repeatedly that in the period of the Howard government, nearly 250 boats arrived in Australia carrying nearly 15,000 boat people. Can I say to those opposite: I have not heard anyone so far dispute any element of the accuracy of those numbers. So the member for Murray can slice and dice data as she so chooses; they are the facts. The second fact is this: in the period we have been in government, there have been around 40 boats that have arrived in this country with about 1,700 to 1,800 individuals. That is over a period of about two years. The Howard government was in office for about 12 years, with nearly 15,000 people on 250 boats.

But what is this really about? It is about the Liberal Party deciding to play the asylum-seeker card because they see it is full of good politics for them. Whatever happened to the member for Wentworth campaigning in the seat of Wentworth on the Liberal-progressive side of the party? Gone, gone, gone—a million—as he is now seeking to pitch his message to the right wing of the party, where he hopes to save his leadership. He is saying to the right wing of the party, ‘I hear your pain on asylum seekers.’ I could ask, why doesn’t he instead reserve his venom for those vile individuals who are people smugglers, rather than to mete it upon the victims of people smugglers, the asylum seekers themselves.

Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table the graph.

Leave not granted.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You can run, but you can’t hide!

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Flinders cannot hide! I understand that he has some business that he wishes to transact within an hour, so he had better be a little careful if he wishes to transact that business!