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

When you capitulate to the people smugglers you do exactly what those opposite did, and that is why we had the interjections coming to me before I stood up, saying, 'You want to talk about the boats.' Yes, we do, because we made a commitment to the Australian people that we would stop the boats, and that is exactly what we have done.

When you capitulate to the people smugglers you end up with the disaster that was the former Rudd and Gillard government's border protection policy. Let us remind ourselves again of that disaster: in excess of 50,000 people coming here illegally by boat and in excess of 1,000 people confirmed dead at sea. At the height of the Labor Party's policy failure in July 2013, there were 10,201 people in held detention and that included 1,992 children. Of course, there is the financial cost to the Australian taxpayer: in excess of $11.5 billion. If you want to talk about the budget, there is a figure that you do not want to talk about. In stopping the boats, we have managed to save the Australian taxpayer and to save the budget in excess of $2.5 billion in this portfolio. That is something that those on the other side in their dreams would never be able to do. As a result of 186 days since there was a successful people-smuggling venture to Australia, we are stopping the boats. This government has the resolve to do that and that is exactly what we are doing.