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

My question is to the Prime Minister. With legislation as significant as the Malaysia people-swap deal, has the Prime Minister discussed with Senator Bob Brown the necessity of supporting the government's position?

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

Firstly, to the Leader of the Opposition's question, I just remind that the government will not be seeking to legislate the arrangement with Malaysia. We will be seeking to introduce into the Migration Act general powers which will enable a government—this government or any government in the future—to implement offshore processing arrangements in nations as they see fit.

Obviously the government is committed to the arrangement with Malaysia and also putting a centre in PNG, and we have been in discussions with the government of PNG about that. The Leader of the Opposition has a different plan, and his different plan is about Nauru. That too, to be beyond legal doubt, would require legislative amendment and also to deal with some very complex matters involving unaccompanied minors.

The Leader of the Opposition asked me about discussions with other parliamentarians, including Senator Bob Brown. Senator Brown is, of course, aware of the government's plans. They have been very clearly canvassed in the media and the government will be bringing legislation to the parliament—

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

Mr Speaker, on a point of order, it was a very specific question. Has she discussed with Senator Brown—

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

Honourable members interjecting—

Order! Just before giving the call to the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government and Minister for the Arts, all I am seeking is less interjecting, less argument and less debate, and that will lead to less intervention from the Speaker and maybe will lead to a good-humoured chamber. I am not confident, but it might.

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, my point of order is that the Prime Minister was clearly directly relevant to the question asked. The only point of order that the Leader of the Opposition could have been getting up on was relevance. He does it every time, not to make a point of order but to restate the question. I think that this pattern of behaviour needs to stop and you, Mr Speaker, need to take that action.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! The House will come to order. First of all, to the point of order by the Leader of the Opposition. The Prime Minister is being directly relevant to the question. As I have said, that does not mean that I or any other occupant of the chair can actually dictate to the person responding what the nature of their response is.

On the point of order made by the minister for regional development, which I would characterise as a point of order on the basis of a belief that the original point of order was an interference in the proceedings, I am happy that the standing orders allow that there be one point of order on relevance during a question and I am then obliged to rule on that. I do suggest that it is the form of the points of order that perhaps the House or the Procedures Committee could look at where the standing order that the point of order is about should be the subject of the point of order without debating the point of order. It is the debating of the point of order that is the interference. The Prime Minister has the call. She has been relevant to the question and she has the call.

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

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I was asked by the Leader of the Opposition about discussions with Senator Brown. What I was endeavouring to make clear is that the government's policies and plans are of course known to Senator Brown, as is already very clear to the Leader of the Opposition and, I would suspect, everybody else in this nation.

Senator Brown is opposed to the government's policies and plans because Senator Brown is opposed to the offshore processing of asylum seekers. I therefore anticipate, in accordance with Senator Brown's publicly stated view that he is opposed to offshore processing of asylum seekers, that he would vote against amendments to the Migration Act that facilitated offshore processing of asylum seekers.

So the question that will come before the parliament is a question about amending the Migration Act to enable government to have the power to have offshore processing. The question, really, that I would suggest the Leader of the Opposition direct his attention to is: when that legislation comes to the parliament, will he and Bob Brown be voting together?