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

That is exactly right, by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and the Greens. When the Howard government lost office in 2007, there were no children in detention. Under the former Labor government, however, we saw more than 50,000 people arrive here illegally, including 8,469 children. Under Labor and the Greens, record numbers of children were placed in detention, rising to a record 1,992 in July 2013. In September, when those opposite lost office, there were 1,392 children in held detention. This government's policies have systematically ensured that we have decreased those numbers. We have done it before; we will do it again.