James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The coalition government is committed to Operation Sovereign Borders and the policies that have kept children out of detention and prevented deaths at sea. The government will not be lectured to by the Labor Party on border protection. Australians have not forgotten the Labor-Greens border disaster, which saw 50,000 people arrive on more than 800 boats. The tragic mistakes of those opposite saw 8,000 children placed in detention and at least 1,200 lives lost at sea. The government will not repeat Labor's mistakes. Given the close ties between Australia and New Zealand, any resettlement of refugees in New Zealand would have serious implications for Operation Sovereign Borders. The coalition will not weaken our borders and never implement policies which risk putting people smugglers back into business.