Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. On 29 June 2013, the Prime Minister said:

… I believe that once people have come into Australia's care and control, we are obliged to look after them and to treat them in accordance with our standards, not other country's standards.

Prime Minister, does this obligation apply to the actions of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question because he is effectively inviting me to state my full confidence in the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, and I am very happy to state my full confidence in the minister. What we need in this particular job is a minister who is strong and decent. We know that this minister is strong because we have now gone almost 70 days without an illegal people smuggling—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order which relates to direct relevance. It is not a question of confidence; it is a question of words that were said by the Prime Minister with respect to the Malaysia debate that happened here and whether the responsibility of Australia here referred to then applies now to people on Manus Island.

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

The question involved a question as to what the Prime Minister would do about the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you—

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

Before the Prime Minister continues: once you add bits which you have considered that you wish to do to your question, they become part of the whole and are there to be answered. The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So we have got a Minister for Immigration and Border Protection who has, through his policy, through his strength, ensured that, for almost 70 days, there has been no illegal people-smuggling venture arrive in this country. I think in the last 3½ years there have been five ministers for immigration. Four have failed; one has succeeded: the current Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.

We all deeply regret the events in and around the Manus camp last week. We deeply regret that. What we are determined to do and what the minister is now doing is ensuring that we have the full facts—that the matter is fully investigated so that everything that is necessary to ensure that this camp is properly run can be done.

The interesting thing is: despite a very, very serious riot—a serious riot involving, we think, some hundreds of people—by the next morning the camp was operating; people were being fed, clothed and housed. That is as it should be.

We deeply regret—of course we do—the fact that Mr Reza Berati lost his life. We will do everything we can to ensure that never again does anyone lose his or her life because of illegal people smuggling. That is why it is so important to stop the boats and, thanks to this minister, the boats are stopping.