Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to the case of three asylum seekers on SIEV36 who were found by the Northern Territory Coroner to be part of a plan to cripple the boat that led to the deaths of five people, injured 40 more and put the lives of our Defence Force personnel at risk. Will the Prime Minister confirm that each of these people has been granted a permanent visa?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cook for his question. I say to the member for Cook that I will make inquiries and report back to the House. Of course, I am not in a position to answer questions about individual visa matters across the many thousands of visas that are granted in the course of a year, but I will look at the matter and, if I have something to report back to the House, then I will.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question to the Prime Minister: if these character test provisions were not sufficient to keep out those who sank SIEV36, how can she say that they will be sufficient to keep out those who are destroying the detention centre on Christmas Island and assaulting Commonwealth officers and destroying taxpayer property?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In answer to the Leader of the Opposition’s supplementary question, I would direct him to the statements of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in respect of his case-by-case assessment of applicants on Christmas Island where he has indicated that, as is proper under the Migration Act, he will assess this case-by-case and where he has also indicated very clearly that there is a character test and he will be applying that character test. I am very interested indeed to see that we have moved off the carbon price scare campaign. Maybe it is going the same way as the flood levy scare campaign.