Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

Those opposite have to answer a pretty basic question, and that is: why would they waste some $980 million over four years on operational expenses along with the assessment centre in Nauru which will make no difference to those who are actually plying the people-smuggling trade? I would ask Senator Cash to enlighten the Senate on the way in which those opposite are actually prepared to ignore the experts who have identified quite clearly that the model that is being proposed by the opposition has failed. It has failed dismally. This is nothing but a cheap, political stunt to try to present the view that they have the answers to what are quite complex problems.

That is quite sharply in contrast to what the government are adopting. We are committed to orderly migration programs. We are committed to ensuring that we bust open the people smugglers' racketeering. Those opposite would enhance that racket­eering by proposing solutions which they know will not work and which they know, as they did in the past, would end up ensuring that Nauru is— (Time expired)