Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hanson-Young for her question. In relation to the allegations made in the Amnesty International report, I think it is very clear to all of those who have followed the last five years in terms of the debacle that the other side caused in relation to our border protection that Amnesty International does not like offshore processing, as does not Senator Hanson-Young. In relation to this government's reinstatement of offshore processing, I can only say to the Senate that we are going to see report after report after report coming out from Amnesty International. Amnesty International, however, would not have had to make this report if this government did not have to clean up the mess, Senator Hanson-Young, that you created when you unwound the former government's border protection policies. There would not be people on Manus Island—there would not be people on Nauru—if you had not sided with the former Rudd government, the former Gillard government and the former Rudd government, to name the three Labor governments, and rolled back the Howard government's Pacific solution and temporary protection visas. You are only asking these questions today because of the actions you took when you were in an unholy formal alliance with those on the other side. You need to come into this chamber for once and for all and take responsibility for your own actions in this regard. Offshore processing works. We proved it under the former Howard government, and we will prove it again under the current Abbott government.