Kevin Hogan (Page, National 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 a well-managed migration program? Why is it important to maintain a strong and consistent approach to border protection policy? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

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

I thank the honourable member for his question and the hard work he does in the electorate of Page. I want to thank all of my colleagues for the work that they do in helping the government to keep our borders secure. We haven't had a death at sea now in over three years. We haven't had children put into detention as they were under Labor. We've been able to bring more refugees in in a measured way and to provide an opportunity for those people that could never have been imagined. We have secured our borders, and it's amazing that members of the Labor Party still to this very day would seek to dismantle the policies which saw this restoration of integrity to our borders. When John Howard left office in 2007, there were four people in detention, including no children. Yet Labor presided over 50,000 people on 800 boats, 8,000 children went into detention, and 17 detention centres opened. It was an absolute national disgrace.

So imagine our surprise when Kristina Keneally, the Labor candidate for Bennelong and factional ally of the Leader of the Opposition, said recently to the Prime Minister that all of the people in the regional processing centres should come to Australia, which is a ticket to people smugglers to get back into business. They sell their product to innocent men, women and children and take money from them. They couldn't care less whether those people go to the bottom of the ocean or make it to Australia, and we are not going to allow that to happen.

There is a lot that we could discuss with the Labor Party. I think there's a lot that the Labor Party could learn from our border protection policies, but I want to update my colleagues. It's been 501 days today since the member for Blair asked a question of me in relation to border protection matters. We contemplated that he may be sedated before he comes into question time each time. He's clearly with us. There's a smile that's broken on his face. I think he's hearing what I'm saying but not taking it in. I think that's a problem, because he still advocates undoing the policies that have restored integrity to our borders.

We are kicking out of this country criminals that would seek to do harm to children and to women in our country, and yet two days in a row he has been supporting Greens motions in the Senate which have made our country a less safe place and have made our borders less secure. What he doesn't realise is that one of the motions which we're going to speak about over the course of the coming days and which he supported actually goes against a recommendation made out of the inquiry into Man Monis and the terrible siege in Martin Place. I don't think he realises that yet, does he? You've sided with the Greens and you don't understand yet what you've done. I'll give you this assurance: I'm going to explain the detail to you in coming days.