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

The message to people smugglers under the Abbott government could not be clearer: Australia is not open for your vile trade; Australia is not open for your vile business. It is quite simple that stopping the boats has also saved people's lives. The great human tragedy of the policies of the former government, that were so vocally supported by Senator Hanson-Young and the Australian Greens, was that 1,000 people were confirmed to have died at sea. That is the tragic result of what occurs when you lose control of Australia's borders. I think the men and women of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service who to a sensational job under this government now in patrolling our borders. (Time expired)