Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister update the House on the benefits of strong and consistent border protection policy? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches? What would be the consequences of altering the government's current strong and consistent approach?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I most sincerely thank the member for Solomon for her question. She is based in Darwin, the home of many of the assets of the Australian Border Force and many of the personnel who have worked over a number of years in the operation to stop the boats. As people in this place know and as the Australian public knows, it is very important that we stare down the threat of people smugglers. As the shadow minister for immigration in his speech to the conference of the ALP last year said, Labor regretted the loss of 1200 lives as a result of Labor's failure in this public policy area when they were last in government.

The most important thing is to make sure that no government ever again repeats the mistake that Labor made when it was last in power. There were 8000 children who went into detention when the Labor Party was last in power; we have reduced that number down now to fewer than 80—in actual fact, it is 75. It is my determination to be the minister who gets kids out of detention—we will reduce that number to zero.

The people smugglers in Indonesia now are looking at the statements made by the Leader of the Opposition, by the Prime Minister, by myself, by state premiers—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The members for Herbert and for Barker will cease interjecting.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and they are desperate to find an opportunity to recast that message into a message of opportunity for vulnerable people who would be willing to pay money to get on a boat, potentially lose their life at sea and to settle in Australia. I am not going to—and the government is not going to—allow that situation to arise. We have dealt with this threat; we have stopped these boats; we are turning back boats where it is safe to do so; we are dealing with people in a compassionate and humane way. We have for a long period of time, as I have informed the House before, had ongoing discussions with third countries to see whether or not we can provide settlement arrangements. But we have been consistent in saying that if you seek to come to Australia illegally by boat, you will not settle in this country.

The Labor Party has at its conference, and on some occasions since, repeated that message by saying, 'We are adopting the policy of the Liberal Party.' But that is starting to unravel: we see in the caucus of the Labor Party today and we have seen over recent days the Deputy Leader of the Opposition trying to carve herself out a separate space in relation to this important debate. Bearing in mind that, if the Labor Party wins the next election and Bill Shorten becomes Prime Minister, that person—the deputy leader—would be around the National Security Committee of cabinet and would be undermining what the Labor Party says its policy is today. What we know from the past is what we know now, and that is that the Labor Party will go to an election, promising one thing and, if they are elected and get into government, they will do the dead opposite.

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just before calling the member for Isaacs, I would remind the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refer to the Leader of the Opposition by his correct title.