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

We do maintain a strong commitment to border protection. Boats are being intercepted and people are being taken to Christmas Island and mandatorily detained. I noticed that the other day the opposition tried to make a claim that they were fearful that boats may arrive on the mainland. I remind them of how many boats arrived on the mainland under the Howard government. This is an issue we have had to deal with for 30 years. It is an issue that confronts us that we have to take seriously. But strong border protection measures remain in place. We have more patrols than there were under the Howard government. We have dedicated more resources than were dedicated under the Howard government. And we have made enormous extra financial commitments to the fight against people-smuggling. But it is a challenge; it is difficult; it is hard. We are working very strongly with our neighbouring countries to try to address this global problem and we will keep working at it, but we will maintain strong border security, as we always have.