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

I thank Senator Reynolds for what is her first question. Yes, I can inform the Senate of the results which can be achieved when you implement policies that work. It is called restoring integrity to Australia's borders. This is what we said we would do at the 2010 election and at the 2013 election. We went to the election stating that, if elected, we would introduce policies that would stem the flow of boats to Australia and restore integrity to Australia's borders.

By way of comparison, in July 2013, under the former government, 48 boats arrived carrying 4,236 people. That equates on average to approximately 136 people every single day for the month of July. So when the senator asks, 'What are the results that can be achieved?' I say this. The first thing you do is stop the deaths at sea. Under the former government, with policies encouraged by the Australian Greens, in excess of 1,200 people were confirmed drowned at sea. So you stop the deaths at sea. You also restore fairness to the Humanitarian Settlement Services program. Thousands of refugees languishing in camps were left there by the former government because the former government had a policy that those who had the means and the opportunity to come to Australia were given precedence over those who had spent in excess of five, 10, 15, 20 or 25 years in camps. So you restore integrity to Australian borders. The other thing you do is you return money to the budget when you stop the boats.