Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister inform the House of the benefit to the budget of the government's consistent border protection policies? How important is it to sustain the government's successful policies into the future?

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

I thank the member for Moore for his question. He has shown strong support for the coalition's strong border protection policies. It has been 160 days since the last successful people-smuggling venture to Australia, and to get those results you must be consistent, you must have resolve and you must follow through.

Mr Marles interjecting—

People smugglers can recognise jelly in the back of a government when they see it. They can recognise it, and they recognised the jelly in the back of the previous government when it came to border protection in their four failed immigration ministers who now litter of the front bench of the opposition. The Australian people can see the jelly in the back of this Leader of the Opposition too, who still refuses to acknowledge the success of this government to date in fixing the mess that their government left behind. They remain in denial about the problem and they remain in denial about the solution that this government is putting in place.

Yesterday we heard a new excuse from the shadow minister about why the boats started again under the Labor Party. We have heard the push factors and all those issues, but yesterday we heard that it is because the people smugglers had access to technology. So it was not Kevin Rudd's fault; it was Steve Jobs's fault that the boats started again. He blames the iPhone for the boats coming back under the Labor Party. What are we going to hear from next—that the budget deficit is the result of the cloud raining down debt and deficit on the budget?

Mr Marles interjecting—

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

The member for Corio will desist. The member for Corio is warned. One more utterance and you will leave.

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

This opposition is in denial about the problem they have left for this government and they are in denial about the solutions this government is putting in place.

We need to stay the course on border protection and those opposite would change it all because they oppose the successful border protection policies of this government. They will turn back on turnbacks, you can be sure of that. This government will not be turning on turnbacks, you can be assured. We will stay the course and we will follow through on offshore processing. We will never roll over like they always will on offshore processing. It is in their DNA to do it. We will follow through on ensuring that people who are processed offshore will not be settled in Australia. That is why we are talking to Cambodia. Perhaps the former immigration minister has a Nigerian solution he wants to put forward before this parliament to follow through on what he said would happen and that no-one would be resettled in Australia. We are going to follow through and make sure that happens and we will never honour the people smugglers' promise, which the opposition still wants to do, by providing permanent visas to those who came illegally by boats.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Rubbish! Absolute rubbish!

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

It will not happen under this government.