Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister and it refers to the first question asked in question time today, by the member for Solomon, when the Prime Minister failed to verify whether a report was true or not. According to that report, Afghans with valid Australian visas who protected the Australian embassy and their families, up to 1,200 people, were left to wait outside Kabul Airport, some standing in sewage, before being turned away. The Prime Minister must know whether that report is true. Will he tell the Australian people: is that report true?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not about to go into operational reports—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Members on my left!

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

of situations occurring on the ground in Kabul, many of which are very difficult to confirm. Those opposite who may have spent time in the National Security Committee when they were in government will know that there are many reports that come from the field that can't be verified, and to seek to provide some confirmation of those when that's not available would be unwise. It would be extremely unwise. What I sought to do in answering the member for Solomon's question was point out very clearly that Australians are doing everything within their power right now to bring vulnerable people out of one of the most dangerous situations in the world—and the fact that almost 2½ thousand have been brought out in the space of a week—at great risk to themselves, acting under extreme stress, and doing that each and every day. Five flights last night, almost 1,000 people out on these five flights, and that included operations we were able to undertake which saw additional people brought to the airport that have been able to get on planes. It is a great credit to that operation and how it is being led, both by the Australian Defence Force but ultimately under the leadership of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

And I want to single out not only those who are in this chamber, the Minister for Home Affairs and the Minister for Defence, for their incredible work in leading this initiative, but also the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has done an extraordinary job in coordinating so many of these activities, and each day the National Security Committee, which I chair, has been going over the details of these operations—on a daily basis—to ensure we're not only keeping our own people safe but we're connecting up with the other partners and allies that we're working with. There are Brits, Kiwis and others getting on our planes, Afghans who have worked with them and worked with us, getting on their planes and our planes. We are working together to get this job done in one of the most extreme situations you can imagine.

Opposition members interjecting—

I note the interjections from those opposite, and I simply say this: I would invite them to support this mission and affirm the great work that is being done by our people to get people out of there safely.