Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Let's start looking at the record of those on the opposite side and the issues they've been raising through their list of questions over the past week. If we want to talk about protecting Operation Sovereign Borders, let's look at the record of those opposite, at what they've actually done. We won't forget, on that fateful election day, the decision by the previous government, led by the member for Cook, when the operational protocols that protect Operation Sovereign Borders were undermined. Under the direction of the former prime minister and the former home affairs minister, they ordered a senior military officer to issue a public statement compromising a live military led operation. This disregard for Operation Sovereign Borders was not a once-off, of course; it's happened before. They have been up to this before.

The most recent comments from the Leader of the Opposition on border security have shown yet again that they put their own political games and gains ahead of the country's interests. What they're actually about is marketing to those people who are smuggling people into this country, because that is the consequence of undermining a border protection system that both parties strongly support. They've actually turned around and used a marketing campaign to be used by people smugglers in trying to undermine the exact same policy that we've been implementing. They undermined it on election day. They undermined it when they turned around and made those comments on a live military led operation when dealing with our sovereign borders. They turned around again today, in this last week, doing the exact same thing.

So the opposition isn't here asking questions about the fact they're concerned about boats. They're not here asking questions because they're concerned about protecting Operation Sovereign Borders. They're not here asking questions because they're concerned about national security. They're here asking questions because they want to create fear and division, and also open up the opportunity for those people smugglers to get more people onto boats, dying in the sea lanes all across the territories around Australia. These are the consequences of the strategy that has been adopted by those opposite.

Now, the disinformation peddled by the Leader of the Opposition rips apart, for political gain, the bipartisan support for this critical policy. They will stop at nothing, will they? They'll stop at absolutely nothing. And they should absolutely know better than to be carrying on in the way they have, because not only is it false and inaccurate information—and I'll get to that in two moments; I don't think I'm going to have enough time—because what was said by the commander of the Joint Agency Task Force, Operation Sovereign Borders, Rear Admiral Brett Sonter, made it abundantly clear about what those opposite have been up to. He said:

The mission of Operation Sovereign Borders remains the same today as it was when it was established in 2013—

exactly the same—

protect Australia's borders, combat people smuggling in our region, and importantly, prevent people from risking their lives at sea.

Any alternate narrative will be exploited by criminal people smugglers to deceive potential irregular immigrants and convince them to risk their lives and travel to Australia by boat.

That's what they're doing. That's what they're up to. And those are the consequences. People will die at sea, if you get your way by giving the sort of misinformation you have, under false pretences, with the false accusations you have made. The facts stand, as the rear admiral expressed. You are undermining our borders and you are putting people at risk. Those are the consequences of what you are doing.

That's another miscalculation, of course, because part of the marketing strategy for these people smugglers is to say that our borders are able to be broken. So what do those opposite do? They not only give misinformation and take a political opportunity to misrepresent the facts; they go further, because they also say that there's been a decrease in funding for the Australian Border Force. So now they're saying to those people smugglers: 'It's easier to come in.' Now, it's the same policy. The rear admiral made it clear—