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

Can I first say that the $1 billion figure, dodgied up by the shadow minister for border protection, the shadow minister for immigration, is complete nonsense. It is creative accounting at its worst and does the opposition a great disservice. It is the sort of maths we see from Tony Abbott when he has a thought bubble about parental leave. It does not replace the need for hard work and attention to detail in opposition. I do not accept the figure at all. The figure is nonsense and has no credibility if anyone has a look at it. If you are looking for a point of referral on boat arrivals and record numbers, you do not look to Whitlam; you look to Howard. The greatest activity in the area of arrivals was under the Howard government. We are dealing with a similarly difficult proposition in terms of a surge in arrivals, but it is not Whitlamesque; it was during the Howard career that we had record numbers. (Time expired)