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

As I indicated to the senator in answer to his primary question, the key issue here is about operational safety both of Navy and Customs personnel and of those persons seeking to unlawfully enter Australia. As I was saying earlier, the experience of SIEV36 recently, which is still subject to a coroner’s inquiry, indicated the dangers for Navy personnel and for refugees seeking asylum when dealing with boats at sea. As I said to you, I think under the previous government the policy of turning boats around was largely abandoned because of those risks. I will check with the Minister for Defence and the minister for customs about the current operational instructions that are applied.