David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The only way you could categorise what we would have to clean up if we win the next election is: 'filthy, dirty work'. There will be filthy, dirty work across the economy, across all aspects of public policy, across border protection and across defence. It is going to be filthy, dirty work, because the mess that these people have delivered upon ordinary, hardworking Australians is going to require a lot of cleaning up. We are on track for 25,000 people coming to Australia on board boats. That is more people than you find in Kalgoorliein Western Australia or Albany in Western Australia. We are getting 3,000 people a month. We have had 12,000 people so far this year. We had 11 boats last week. Labor's response was to actually take $14 million from the operating budget of Border Protection Command in the last budget.

Where on earth do these people get their ideas from? We have had 45,000 people on 730 boats since Labor has been in charge of our borders. We find out today, thanks to Senator Cash, that there are 1,600 children in detention. This policy failure, the hypocrisy of this government and the absolutely hopeless capacity in public policy administration has no bounds—it has no bounds. We have had boats sailing into Broome harbour; we have had boats at Croker Island and Vashon Head. We have had a boat sail right opposite the Dome Cafe in Geraldton. I have had to look at boats on the Swan River several times, just to make sure that they are not asylum seeker boats—because that is what is next.

Yet they say, 'It is your fault, because 800 people—in a people-swap with Malaysia—has not been allowed to go ahead.' That is two weeks' worth of people. They stand there, look you in the eye and say, 'It is all the opposition's fault.' My goodness, we are really plumbing the depths of credibility with these people. Their public policy capacity is less than zero. What they have done—in their fabulously unskilled, heavy-handed, stupid and incompetent way—is completely alienate our most important neighbour. They have completely alienated them.

There we have a minister for agriculture—who has never been into an agricultural district in his life—saying to Indonesia: 'Your primary source of meat and your primary source protein has stopped, and I am not even going to tell you about. We will issue a press release; you can read it about it somewhere and somehow. But you cannot get any more live cattle from Australia.' I think Indonesia would be pretty upset by that and I am right. Can I say that 12,000 people this year bear it out. This problem requires diplomacy, understanding and respect—all the things that this government do not bring to the game and do not bring to the table. They have given Indonesia two fingers on live export. That is what they have done.

So we have now got 12,000 people—11 or 13 boats a week—and the government says, 'It's all the opposition's fault, because you would not allow us to do a swap of 800 people with Malaysia.' Give me a break! Your credibility is pathetic. You are an incompetent government and you will be destined for the dustbin of history at the next election. (Time expired)