George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I simply make the point to you, Senator Di Natale, that there are now fewer than 200 children in detention. When the coalition was elected, little more than two years ago, there were almost 2,000 children in detention. The regional processing framework, which was the policy of the previous Labor government as well as the coalition government, has been an essential element in deterrence, in persuading people not to undertake the perilous and treacherous voyage by sea which saw more than 1,000 lives lost, many of them children.