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

I certainly stand by my critique of the Pacific solution. I think it was cynical, and it was costly. It is worth remembering that the people who were subject to the Pacific solution are now settled in Australia and New Zealand; the vast majority have settled here or in New Zealand. The Howard government did a deal with New Zealand to take a large number of people off the island of Nauru in order to have political cover for the fact that the Pacific solution had failed; it was cynical, it was costly and the reality is that people were resettled in Australia. The Howard government did not like to front up to that, they did not like to publicise that, but the reality is that those people were settled in Australia. So the Pacific solution was no solution. We need regional cooperation, we need the support of our neighbours, and that is what this government is focused on. (Time expired)