Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister that illegal arrivals by boat are now 1,000 times higher than in 2008, when the Rudd government abolished the policies of temporary protection visas, the Pacific solution and turning back boats where it was safe to do so. Does the Prime Minister now accept that Prime Minister Rudd's decision to abolish the Howard government's successful border protection policies was a mistake, or does she stand by her support for his government's change of policy?

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

) ( ): To the deputy leader's question: what this government does is deal with the advice of experts and deal with the world in which we live. We do not pretend a different world exists. The Leader of the Opposition's policies and plans depend on believing a different world exists. For example, the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition have been out pretending to the Australian people that they can somehow turn boats back and get an agreement with Indonesia to do so. Well, since the parliament last sat, the falsehood of this—

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

Madam Speaker, on a point of order: the question was about the world the Prime Minister has created, and she should address specifically that question.

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

Opposition members interjecting —

Order! When I have silence, the Prime Minister has the call.

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

Thank you very much. To the Leader of the Opposition's point of order and the deputy leader's question: what the government does is create policies guided by the facts and guided by the experts. We have been guided by people like the former Chief of the Defence Force Angus Houston. What we have hit in this parliament is the relentless negativity of the opposition that, in choosing between the national interest of Australia and a bit of cheap political advantage, went for the cheap political advantage and voted for more boats. Now what they are doing is peddling falsehoods out in the Australian community. Since this parliament last sat, the Vice President of Indonesia has made it absolutely clear that the false claims by the opposition to have some agreement with Indonesia that they can return boats to Indonesia are simply untrue. Then, even more recently, the former chief admiral, someone who would know something—

Opposition members interjecting —

I know this is uncomfortable for the opposition: a former Defence Force leader, Admiral Chris Barrie, has spoken on turning boats back and has spoken about the dangers for Defence Force personnel. So to the deputy leader's question: what she is asking me to do and asking the government to do is to pretend that you can make Indonesia do things when the statements of a sovereign nation are clear on the record. What she is asking me to do is to reject the advice of senior personnel and former personnel like Chris Barrie about the dangers to Defence Force officers in endeavouring to turn boats back. Well, that world of falsehood lies over there in the opposition. For us, what we would want to be able to do is come to this parliament and get consent from this parliament to fully implement the expert panel's recommendations. But of course the Leader of the Opposition, in the deep embrace of negativity, will continue to vote for more boats time after time after time.