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 a statement in this House that it is completely untrue that Malaysia and not Australia would choose the 800 people Malaysia will take from Australia under her five-for-one people-swap deal. Can the Prime Minister confirm that Malaysia will not have any right of veto under her proposal?

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

I say to the member who asked the question—a member who is known for playing politics in this area rather than anything associated with the policy, most graphically demonstrated when he played politics with the funerals of asylum seekers—that we are working with Malaysia on an innovative transfer agreement. As part of that transfer agreement, we would bring to Australia people who are genuine refugees, who are processed in Malaysia and who are already there now and are waiting a resettlement opportunity. The processes we would go through would be comparable to the processes we go through when we take other refugees in other parts of the world under the humanitarian—

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

I rise on a point of order on relevance. The Prime Minister was asked, 'Would Malaysia have any right of veto over the 800 going to that country?' She should answer yes or no to that question.

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

I will listen carefully to the Prime Minister's response. It would assist if those who are making the noise that prevents me from hearing her sat there in silence.

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

My recollection is that the quote that the shadow minister is using is a statement that I made when I was asked about the selection of people under the humanitarian intake to come here, but I am happy to describe both parts of the arrangement. As I was saying before the Leader of the Opposition took his point of order, in terms of our increased humanitarian intake, the shadow minister would be aware that we take humanitarian intake from around the world. We have processes to do that. We are looking to increase our humanitarian intake. I know that there are some days when the opposition opposes that; there are some days when they are prepared, in pursuit of political deals, to offer to double the humanitarian quota, with the $3 billion cost that that would imply. That was the approach taken by the Leader of the Opposition in the lead-up to government being formed.

On the issue of the asylum seekers to be returned, we are working with Malaysia on the transfer agreement. Its aim is to break the people-smugglers' business model. As I have said to his House before, I am not ruling in or ruling out arrangements in relation to that 800. But the message to people-smugglers is clear: if you risk coming here on a boat then the risk that you run is that will end up in Malaysia at the back of the queue. I say to the opposition that there does come a point at which their playing of politics with this is genuinely destructive to the national interest. They ought to contemplate what they are doing as they approach that point.