Ian Goodenough (Moore, 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 importance of maintaining integrity in Australia's migration programs? Why is a clear, consistent and forthright approach needed? Is the minister aware of any other alternatives?

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

I want to say thank you very much to the member for Moore for his question and for the hard work that he does in his Western Australian seat. He's a great member of this parliament and we acknowledge that today. He's a person of great character. Look across the benches here. This side of the parliament is full of people with great character. I'll tell you a person who has questionable character in this place. He's sitting right there. The Australian public have got him pegged, as does the member for Grayndler, who's in The Australian newspaper again today—the people's choice. Remember the people's choice? Former Labor senator John Black pointed it out last weekend. He's got the number of the Leader of the Opposition. He knows, like every Australian does, as every member of this side of the parliament knows, that the Leader of the Opposition does not have the character, does not have the strength or the integrity, to be the leader of this nation.

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

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection will resume his seat.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

The member for Grayndler will cease interjecting. I listened to the question—even though it was difficult above the noise—very carefully. I allow preambles, with greater tolerance for the Prime Minister, but the minister has now been going for a minute and he has not got to the substance of the question. He will need to bring himself to it immediately.

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

I was trying to break out of that preamble, but I was on a roll. Thank you for your forbearance.

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

You can roll out of the chamber, too!

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

Let me say, this Leader of the Opposition, when he was a minister in the glory years—that is, the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, when he was the employment minister—he said to the Australian public that he believed in Australian workers and that he would stand up for Australian jobs. You know what happened? When he was the employment minister, there were 40,000 extra visas created. If you want to talk about integrity—

Mr Bowen interjecting—

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

The member for McMahon will resume his seat. The minister has come to visas, and he'll stay on that subject or the broader subject of the question.

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

The Labor Party may not want to hear this, but the Australian public already knows it. Whether we're talking about border management, whether we're talking about visas, whether we're talking about Australian jobs, this Leader of the Opposition has a track record for a lack of integrity.

Opposition members interjecting—

They can scream and yell as much as they want, but they know—as the member for Grayndler knows—that this Leader of the Opposition has big question marks over his character.

The fact is that this government, when we were elected, was elected to clean up a mess, and clean it up we have. We've stopped deaths at sea. We've stopped children arriving into detention. And, at the same time, in a compassionate way, we have been able to increase the number of refugees coming into this country. The Labor Party, in contrast—including this Leader of the Opposition, who was a minister in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years—presided over 1,200 people drowning at sea, including men, women and children. At the same time, he's been out there saying to the Australian public that he wouldn't tolerate that again, that he would adopt the policies of this government. But the fact is that he won't, because you cannot trust this Leader of the Opposition. You cannot trust this man. The Australian public gets it, and the member for Grayndler is going to act on it soon enough.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.