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

Thank you, Mr President. Senator Di Natale, I think the context is important. You criticise a set of policies by the coalition government that have stopped the deaths. You point to two deaths, neither of which are the result of any policy implemented by the coalition but as a result of the particular circumstances at a particular time.

The case of the man who self-immolated on Nauru was a suicide after all, but we know that there were 1200 or more deaths at sea as a result of policies that were adopted by the previous government and we will never return to those.

Senator Di Natale, you ask whether or not any health professionals would be prosecuted for speaking out. I am not aware of any suggestion that there would be any prosecutions. I cannot immediately think of what offence anyone would be prosecuted for, if they contributed to the public discussion of these events, whatever their point of view.