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

Let me explain. You may have been misled by a couple of press releases Dr Stone put out which actually were factually incorrect—there is a bit of a tradition there. As I indicated to you, persons who have been processed on Christmas Island might then be brought to the mainland if there are capacity needs. They would be treated as offshore entry persons subject to the same legal regime that applied under the previous government. There has been no change to that legal regime. If you are claiming that people are entitled to social security benefits, that is not accurate in terms of their detention. But, again, the legal arrangements in place are exactly those that applied under the previous Howard government. Mandatory detention, offshore processing, excision of the islands: those arrangements are exactly the same.