Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I am happy to try to get some detail in relation to those matters, but can I suggest to the honourable senator that there might be a very substantial difference between somebody being forcibly removed and somebody being voluntarily removed. If they are voluntarily removed, it means they actually wanted to go back whence they came. I would simply refer Senator Hanson-Young to an answer provided by Senator Cash earlier this week indicating that, under our watch, more asylum seekers have voluntarily left Australia to go back to their country of origin than have sought to arrive in this country, which is something that I think we should take note of.