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

No, obviously I do not accept that. As I say, if you track the regular movement of persons out of source countries who have traditionally headed towards Australia you see an increase in activity, as you do for countries in Europe and elsewhere. This is driven by the situation in Afghanistan and of course the worsening situation in Pakistan. That is where the largest number of arrivals we have had have come from. I also want to suggest to the senator that this argument about the monsoon season is not actually folklore but I do not think it is a major factor, from the advice I have had about impacts on arrivals. Because of the shortness of the journeys, it has not in recent years had a huge impact. But, Senator, I am being very clear: we are dealing with an increased rate of activity, it is a serious public policy problem and the government is working very hard to address it. We are using all our capacities to address this issue. (Time expired)