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

Firstly, can I indicate that the senator did not fairly represent the figures. She moves from annual figures, to the election of the Rudd government and to August 2008, so I dispute the figures she quoted. They were not fairly represented. But I do note that she again seeks to quote the Australian, but I think it was from weeks ago. Again, we see a little delay between reading the paper and asking the question. I think Mr Kelly generally has a fairly balanced attitude to the challenge faced. He deals with the realities of the public policy challenge when he writes his articles. I do not always agree with him, but he does actually try and deal with the complexities and the challenges, and they are big challenges. It is a complex issue. We are working very hard to get better policy outcomes by engaging with our neighbours. We will continue to work hard to try and ensure a reduction in the number of unauthorised boat arrivals. (Time expired)