Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to reports that the ship shown in this photograph, now known as the MV Sun Sea, is on its way to Australia. Given suspected links between this ship and an organised Tamil Tiger people-smuggling operation, will the Prime Minister assure the House that the MV Sun Sea will not be able to enter Australian waters, or is this the vessel that sailed undetected into Flying Fish Cove this morning?

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

I thank the member for his question. On the first point, as I said to the honourable member yesterday, the practice of this government—and, I believe, the practice of previous governments—is not to comment on ongoing security, operational and associated intelligence matters. That is the first point. That is the responsibility of any responsible government on questions of national security, something which the Leader of the Opposition obviously finds amusing. We on this side of the House do not. The second point I would make, in relation to the second part of his question, is that he refers to undetected arrivals. I would simply say that the detection rate under this government is considerably better than that under the last government. The interception rate under this government—wait for it—is 94 per cent. Under the previous government it was 87 per cent. Can I say to the member, therefore, that he might actually again put facts instead of fear. Could he also on this question possibly reflect on the responsibility of a responsible shadow minister, which is to engage his counterpart on questions of security and operational matters. There are protocols which govern these things. I would have thought that any responsible member, let alone a member of the shadow executive, would adhere to those protocols.

Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. I have drawn your attention to the responsibilities of ministers on a couple of occasions. Is this parliament entitled to know whether a heavily loaded ship turned up in Flying Fish Cove this morning?

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

I hear the murmurs of ‘serious matter’. It was not a serious matter when the Prime Minister was on his feet. The question was asked. Those on my left talked all the way through it. The member for O’Connor knows that the point he has raised is not something that I can deal with. It is something that I will not respond to. Many people—and the member for O’Connor is amongst those that have been here longest—would look through the way in which these matters have been handled by now successive governments.