Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank senators, particularly Senator McGrath, Senator Reynolds and Senator Back, for their contributions to this important discussion. It is extraordinary to me that the Greens and the Labor Party have the gall to come into this place and raise this matter of public importance on asylum seekers. It is extraordinary that they do not just hang their heads in shame at what they oversaw over six years prior to the coalition coming to government. Senator Hanson-Young comes into this place and waxes lyrical and moralises to the coalition about asylum seeker policy when the policy she supported and the policy the Labor Party implemented and oversaw was a disaster. It is difficult to compare the policy disaster that we saw in relation to asylum seekers over the six years of the Labor-Greens government with any other area of policy failure. I cannot think of another policy failure that has led to at least 1,100 deaths at sea. I cannot think of another policy failure that has led to human tragedy on such a scale.

For the Greens through Senator Hanson-Young and Senator Milne, and the Labor Party through the likes of Senator Urquhart, to lecture the coalition and to lecture the Senate on this issue is breathtaking. I imagine it will be breathtaking to the Australian people when they reflect on the record of those opposite when they were in office. It will be breathtaking when they consider the numbers of people, the sheer human tragedy—

Senator Hanson-Young interjecting—

Senator Hanson-Young continues to carp away; she continues to interject—part of her must be a little bit embarrassed about what she is saying and about what she has overseen. She comes in here and moralises and lectures to a government that has got control of the issue to the extent that we no longer see the boats coming—we have seen one boat over the last nine months or so; one boat compared to the 20,000 people in the same period last year under the former government.

Senator Hanson-Young interjecting—

We know why she keeps interjecting—she must be embarrassed.