Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for her answer, but she did not go to the central point. I ask again: wasn’t Indonesia’s acceptance of next Monday’s meeting with our Prime Minister the result of very tortuous and placating diplomacy involving rushing the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs to a special meeting and meetings between Minister Downer and the minister for foreign affairs of Indonesia? Isn’t it a fact that Indonesia’s acceptance of the meeting was based on the Prime Minister’s promise to deliver changes to our immigration laws? Won’t the Prime Minister be totally humiliated if he cannot deliver on his appeasement promise to Indonesia before he attends the meeting on Monday?