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

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind her that seven illegal boats have arrived in Australia in the last nine days, adding to the 33,500 illegal arrivals since the government changed its border protection laws.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Leader of the Opposition is being deliberately misleading in the framing of the question.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You are desperate and dying.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dickson is warned. The Leader of the House makes a valid point in respect of language, but the question is in order.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Could he start again?

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition can commence his question again.

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

I remind the Prime Minister that seven illegal boats have arrived in Australia in the last nine days, adding to the 33,500 illegal arrivals since the government changed border protection laws. So I ask the Prime Minister: isn't illegal immigration by boat, rather than skilled migration, the biggest immigration rort happening under her government?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Speaker, I go to the point of order. The Leader of the Opposition knows that, under the law prevailing under both the former government and the current government, it is not illegal to seek asylum.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Speaker—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Mackellar can resume her seat. As I said before, the issue raised by the Leader of the House is a valid point. But the question was in order.

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Berowra will resume his seat. I will not enter debate as other speakers have. I have ruled the question in order.

Mr Ruddock interjecting—

The member for Berowra will resume his seat.

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

In answer to the Leader of the Opposition's question: first, on the question of asylum seeker and refugee policy, the Leader of the Opposition is well aware that in line with his normal reckless negativity he came into this parliament and exercised his vote for more boats. That is what he did. He could have exercised his vote to back in the expert recommendations of the former Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Houston; a refugee expert, Paris Aristotle; and a foreign affairs expert, Michael L'Estrange. He could have listened to that expert opinion. Instead, he came into this parliament and put his hand up for more boats.

I note that, on this topic of asylum seeker and refugee policy, today, of all days, is a very unusual time for the Leader of the Opposition to raise it, because he and his shadow minister are completely at odds on refugee and asylum seeker policy. The Leader of the Opposition has gone up and down the country, over a number of years now, saying he will stop the boats. He has never said how, but he will stop the boats! And he has said on radio today that he would be making a difference from the first few weeks. And he has said in the past that he would stop the boats in the first few months if he were ever elected; whereas his shadow minister last night said, 'I don't put timeframes on it and I'm not about to. I'm not making such forecasts.' Those were the words of the shadow minister—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hesitate to take this point of order but—

Honourable members interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Bass is warned.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How can it be relevant for the Prime Minister to be saying that the Leader of the Opposition did something in this House when that bill was never brought into the House for a vote and therefore we have never voted against that bill?

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. There are other forms in the House to address such issues. The Prime Minister will return to the question before the chair.

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

As I was saying, what we have had from the opposition, between last night and today, is complete chaos on this question. On this side of the House, apart from pursuing asylum seeker and refugee policy in line with the recommendations of the expert panel, we are rightly focusing on the question of Australian jobs. We believe that jobs are important to Australians: it is at the centre of what a Labor government does. And when there are more than 100,000 temporary overseas workers in Australia and when the rate at which these visas are growing is 20 per cent—far faster than the rate at which employment is growing—then we are concerned. We will always put the jobs of Australians first.

I know that the Leader of the Opposition has a different perspective and that his policy is to make these temporary foreign visas a mainstay of our immigration system. For us, this is about the Australian economy, jobs, opportunity and working conditions, and in those we will always put Australians first. We recognise that there are from time to time legitimate skill needs, but we will make sure that a temporary visa scheme addresses that—and only that.