Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to the government’s budget estimate that only 200 unauthorised arrivals were expected to come to Australia by boat in the current financial year. Given that there have been more than 3,100 unauthorised arrivals on 68 boats in this year, Prime Minister, how many unauthorised arrivals does the government now anticipate will come to Australia by boat this financial year, and what will be the additional cost to accommodate these arrivals?

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

I thank the honourable member for Canning for his question given his well-known commitment to the defence of a proper and balanced policy when it comes to asylum seekers and Australia’s national security. We know that he has been out there with the member for Berowra on these questions for a long, long time.

The honourable member asks about the arrival of asylum seekers in Australia. I say to the honourable member that all governments past have been confronted with arrivals by boat and by other means. I also refer to the fact that, in the period following the introduction of the so-called Pacific solution by those opposite, in each year following that we had thousands upon thousands upon thousands of asylum seekers arrive in Australia. I would say in response to the honourable member that global security circumstances constantly change, as they did for the Howard government, as they will do for this government and as they will do into the future as well. Therefore, it is important to respond appropriately to the practical circumstances which present themselves and we will continue to do so.