Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In world terms, Australia's borders are particularly extensive, and, by the very nature of our nation, our borders are very challenging to surveil and police. We have a huge country—in fact, we occupy a whole continent—and we have a very sparse population with a very extensive land and sea border. Our border protection force and our combined defence forces provide an integrated and vital service in maintaining the security of our borders, and they do perform an excellent service for us.

Successfully patrolling and maintaining security of our borders requires employment of a broad range of technologies, operating from a multitude of platforms, that includes submarines, aircraft, ships, satellites, and land based assets. Commanding these resources are staff within these mobile assets and within bases spread across almost all states and territories—including, extensively, my home of the Northern Territory. The vast yet comprehensive nature of maintaining our border security is a significant challenge, and we do it very well. The complexity of the resources and the management required to achieve this level of security is significant, and I congratulate all those who participate in achieving our high standards of border security.

Achieving this level of security was particularly difficult in the period following the disastrous Labor years, when control of our borders was entirely lost to the people smugglers. When Labor entered government in 2007, there were only four illegal maritime arrivals in detention, and none of them were children. In what can only be described as an inexplicable decision—and without a skerrick of policy forethought and not one ounce of common sense—Labor proceeded to unwind the successful Howard government border-protection policies.

The results were disastrous and began almost immediately. Fifty thousand people arrived on more than 800 boats—800 boats; it's unfathomable. That's not a policy; that was a free-for-all. It was open slather for all and sundry to come to Australia as they pleased and without consideration for our nation's security or the protection of our citizens. As is frequently the case with thought-bubble policy, no consideration was given to the variety of outcomes beyond the initial goal of letting everybody in. We know that that disaster of a Labor policy was directly responsible for the deaths of at least 1,200 people—1,200 people that we know of, and possibly more.

The notion that these deaths can be fobbed off as unintended consequences is truly telling of the lack of foresight Labor has when it comes to policy. When Labor and Dr Kerryn Phelps teamed up to introduce amendments that saw the introduction of the medevac legislation, it came as a surprise to no-one that there was little or no thought resembling a policy behind these changes, and almost immediately the system was abused to enable entry by those who may seek to harm us. During Senate estimates, Senator Chandler asked how many people had been brought into Australia as a direct result of the medevac laws and who were considered to be people for which we held security concerns. In response—

Debate interrupted.