Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As both Senator Johnston and Senator Scullion said, the failure of the Rudd government’s border protection policy is just another one of the typical policy failures of this government—the pink batts story, where nothing was thought through or planned properly and which has turned into a disaster, and other policies of this government. It shows a lack of planning, a lack of commitment and a lack of real determination to solve the problem.

The boats do not lie. They are a continuous reminder of the Rudd government’s policy failure and refusal to accept responsibility for a problem of their own making. The people smugglers have wasted no time in sending another message to the Rudd government. Ninety boats have now arrived in Australia since the Rudd government first started rolling back the strong border protection policies inherited from the coalition government led by John Howard. The boats are now arriving at a rate of more than two per week.