Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Minister, what steps has the government taken to honour its commitment to my constituents to stop the illegal arrival of people by boat?

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

I thank the honourable member and my neighbour and colleague from the shire for his question. The right policies on border protection are now in the right hands and they are getting the right results. We have had a reduction of more than 80 per cent in illegal arrivals to Australia by boat.

Mr Marles interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corio!

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

We are doing that because we are denying people smugglers the product to sell. We are doing that through our deterrence and disruption operations.

Mr Marles interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corio will desist!

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

We are doing that by putting offshore processing in place, the way it was designed, not the way the previous government was doing because they had to be dragged kicking and screaming to implement it.

Mr Marles interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corio is warned!

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

Here onshore we committed to reintroduce temporary protection visas and we did exactly that. No government that is serious about border protection honours the promises of people smugglers and hands out permanent residency in this country to people who came to Australia illegally by boat. This is what those opposite want to see happen now and that is why they combined together with the Greens the other night to try to keep open the visa shop which they ran for more than five years handing out permanent visas to people who had arrived illegally by boat. Those opposite combined with the Greens the other night to try to open that shop again. That shop is shut. This government has taken action to ensure that, despite the deplorable actions of the Greens and Labor acting in concert, the visa shop for those who have come to Australia illegally by boat is shut. The practice of the previous government was to keep that shop open. The key stewards of that shop sit on the benches opposite.

Mr Stephen Jones interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Throsby will desist!

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

There were gold medal performances from many of them. The previous minister for immigration, now Manager of Opposition Business, handed out 539 permanent protection visas during the few short months that he sat in the chair. He also had the highest month of arrivals of any month under their deplorable record in government of 4,239. Then there is the member for Gorton. He handed out 977 permanent protection visas to people who came to Australia illegally by boat, over which time 12,386 people turned up on his watch. His gold-medal performance was ensuring that the boats continued to come on his watch.

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Isaacs!

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

But the stayer was the member for McMahon, now the shadow Treasurer, who handed out 11,122 permanent protection visas to people who came illegally by boat. That is the record. For six years those opposite ran a visa shop for people smugglers. That shop is now shut under this government.