Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Again, Senator Hanson, the short answer is no. First, our government remains absolutely committed to the policies underpinning Operation Sovereign Borders. Of the small number of people who have attempted to come to Australia by boat since we were elected, each of those people is either awaiting return in Nauru, has been taken to Nauru or has been taken back to their home country. To suggest otherwise is not true. In fact, this government has invested more in Operation Sovereign Borders than we saw under the coalition.

Your question really goes to whether this High Court decision will apply in some way to people who seek to come to Australia by boat. Again, they're completely different concepts. This High Court decision is about a relatively small group of detainees, people who had already come to Australia but, for one reason or another, were not able to be taken back to their home country in the reasonably foreseeable future. It was about the decision of governments to detain those people indefinitely. That's a particular category of people that is different to anyone who seeks to come to Australia by boat. As I say, this government's policy is that anyone who seeks to come to Australia by boat will be either turned back or taken to Nauru.