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

Following the failure of the government to get cooperation from the opposition on some of our proposed responses, we sought to implement in full the Houston report. That report was provided to the government and we sought to get parliamentary support to implement those measures, which we got, and we appreciate that. It did involve us accepting a range of recommendations that had not been Labor policy, but we saw it as a way through the political impasse.

I might say in terms of temporary protection visas that not only did they not work but, I remind those opposite, when we came to government then Liberal ministers were busily granting exemptions from TPVs to people living in the Australian community because of the damage it was doing to them. Hundreds of people were being exempted by Liberal ministers from the conditions of TPVs because of the harshness.