George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Undoubtedly, in the last 98 days, our policies have succeeded, but we have been trying to implement these policies with one arm tied behind our backs, thanks to the Labor Party and their allies, the Greens. They continue to refuse to support the government's mandate to deny permanent visas to people who come illegally by boat to this country—an important element of the suite of policies that we took to the 2013 election.

The Labor Party have learnt nothing from six years of cost, chaos and tragedy that occurred while this portfolio was under their watch. Those opposite still seem to think that it is a good idea to honour the people smugglers' promise and give people who have come to this country illegally by boat a permanent visa. We have been nothing but consistent in our approach to this problem, given the Labor party's 11 failed approaches to border protection.