Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Will the minister update the House on how the government is implementing strong border protection policies without affecting or impacting our foreign aid budget? How might a different approach undermine our foreign aid budget?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Goldstein for his question. One of the extremely unfortunate impacts of the Labor Party dismantling the offshore processing system that has helped stop the people smugglers' evil trade is that the record that they had in government, not just in the unfortunate deaths at sea but in the massive budget blowout that will occur because they'll have to reopen the processing centres—we've closed 17 processing centres and we've stopped the billions of dollars being spent every year on the interdiction of boats and the settlement of asylum seekers. Because we've stopped Labor's policies we haven't had to spend that money on the response to people smuggling.

When Labor was in power, of course they ran out of money. Because they didn't have the strength to recognise that sometimes governments have to make tough decisions, and because they didn't have the strength to really be in government, they oversaw 50,000 unauthorised arrivals on 800 boats, which was a disgraceful and failed policy. It cost other parts of the budget. As the minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, I should remind people—because Labor has obviously forgotten—that in 2012 the then Labor government diverted $375 million from the foreign aid budget to pay for the rising costs of food and housing for asylum seekers released into the community. Labor had to take $375 million from the foreign aid budget to pay for their failed border protection policy. They had taken over from the Howard government a policy that had stopped the boats in the Howard government. They then restarted the people smugglers' evil trade. The coalition was elected in 2013 and the current Prime Minister, as the minister at the time, stopped the boats with the policies that were necessary: turning back boats, offshore processing and temporary protection visas. Now the Labor Party wants to dismantle it all. The Labor Party wants to dismantle temporary protection visas. In fact the member for Braddon is nodding. The Labor Party wants to dismantle offshore processing. They want to dismantle temporary protection visas. If anybody believes this weak Leader of the Opposition, who can't even control his Left in the caucus, would turn back a boat, they're kidding themselves. If Labor wins next year, if the people choose Labor, you will have the boats starting again. The people smugglers will see the green light. The welcome mat will be put out to the people smugglers. A lot of the Labor Party members know it. They've gone along with these tactics as a cheap political stunt. All those Australians who support foreign aid and the foreign aid budget, like I do and the member for Goldstein does, get ready for Labor having to rob Peter to pay Paul if they get back into office and their policies are implemented again.