Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Would the minister tell the House what benefits have flowed because of the government's policies to strengthen our borders?

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

I thank the member for Grey for his question. It is great to see him here in this House. He has been doing an extraordinary job. We came into parliament together and he has been an outstanding member. It is good to be serving with him. I can tell the member for Grey that one of the consequences of the coalition's strong border policies—where we have done exactly what we said we would do—is 158 days without a single successful people-smuggling venture to Australia.

Mr Champion interjecting—

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

The member for Wakefield is warned!

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

I can tell you, Madam Speaker, that it means there have not been deaths at sea, as a result of this policy over the more than five months where we have prevented those ventures from coming to Australia. I can tell the House that it is saving this budget $2½ billion—in this budget—whereas, under the previous government, it was blow-out after blow-out and a total of more than $11½ billion, which is approaching the annual interest bill that those opposite left us: we have to borrow $1 billion every month just to pay back the interest on their debt legacy.

And 20,000 places have been freed up—20,000 places have been freed up both this year and over the forward estimates to go to those people overseas who are waiting for a place. I notice those opposite have gone very quiet. A hush has come over the House. They are stunned into silence by their own failure, because as I look across their front bench what I see is a chorus of failure when it comes to immigration. We have two previous immigration ministers, one being my current penpal, the shadow minister for Nigeria, who wants to put it to us that we should be trying to release people convicted of drug-trafficking out into the community. That was his petition to me. That was his petition. And, if he does not cop to that, he has to tell his constituents that when he makes representations to ministers he does not mean it! He does not mean it at all. It is all clayton's work from the former minister.

Now those opposite pretend to lecture this side of the House, having stuffed up Immigration, about how we should be running the finances of this country. There is a very real risk, the only risk to our borders going forward, and that is if there is a change of policy, and the only way that is going to happen is if that mob ever sits on this side of the House again. Already they are creeping back to doing exactly what Kevin Rudd did when he was Prime Minister and say: 'The boats are stopping. We don't have to do it anymore. We can relax the policies.' That same thinking is creeping into them now. They will never turn boats back where it is safe to do so. They will never have the backbone to do what we need to do on our borders. They never did and they never will.