Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Lundy. I remind the minister that the 2012-13 budget forecast for the Immigration and Citizenship portfolio is based on 5,645 arrivals for the entire financial year. Given that boat arrivals for the last three months have averaged 2,000 per month, or 4.5 times the government's budgeted expectations, will the minister concede that, as a result of Labor's continued failure to implement the full suite of the Howard government's proven border protection policies, the departmental budget was comprehensively blown within the first three months of this financial year?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sure Senator Cash well knows that the figures will be updated in relation to the budget in MYEFO in the usual way. This is the normal practice. This is how it has been done for years, and I think you look forward to the answer. In the meantime, the government is in the process of implementing the 22 recommendations of the expert panel at the moment. It is the approach of a responsible government to take expert advice and to act on that advice. For Senator Cash and the opposition to now imply through their questions that somehow they do not support this approach in fact contradicts the stance they took on the legislation when they supported the government to support those 22 recommendations.

The combination of an increased refugee intake from our offshore program and no advantage for those who arrive by boat removes the attractiveness of attempting the expensive and dangerous boat journey to Australia. Our aim, of course, is to save lives and we are pleased with progress that has been made thus far. We have committed, as the transfers continue, to working with Nauru to ensure that the transfers take place in sync with the building of the appropriate systems in Nauru and we will continue to work with the Nauruan government on that. We have had a number of transfers to Nauru in recent weeks and they will continue in the coming days and weeks.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I remind the minister that as of yesterday there had been 101 illegal boats arrive this financial year alone, carrying 6,436 asylum seekers compared to an average of just 45 people per year over six years under the proven policies of the former Howard government. Given that, by this rationale, we have had more than 50 years of Howard government boat arrivals arrive in September 2012 alone under Labor, can the minister explain why the government abolished the Howard government's policy of offshore processing only to ultimately re-adopt it? (Time expired)

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Isn't it interesting how the opposition likes to have it all ways on this issue. First of all we have members of the opposition standing up saying, 'Why don't you implement the coalition's policy in relation to turning back the boats?' which we know is not possible, not feasible and not something that Indonesia will ever agree to, and then at the same time they stand up in here and say, 'Why have you adopted the coalition's policy?' I think this approach to asking questions and their stance on this issue shows how disingenuous they are in relation to solving what is a very challenging problem. They do not have an answer; they have a political slogan for every stage of managing this challenging issue. Today we have seen the quite rank contradiction in the position the opposition presents to the government the whole time. Imagine what the public think about you. They can see through the disingenuous approach that you are taking to asylum seekers, and far from supporting the expert panel's advice— (Time expired)

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I remind the minister that 60 boats carrying 3,830 asylum seekers have arrived since the Labor government was dragged kicking and screaming into re-establishing offshore processing on Nauru and Manus Island. Given that less than five per cent of those who have arrived on boats since Nauru was reopened have been sent there, and that the number of boat arrivals since the government backflip on offshore processing exceeds the combined capacity of both Manus Island and Nauru, upon what basis does the government claim that Nauru is working?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have now completed two charters of voluntary returns to Sri Lanka—the first group of 18 and the second of 28. This shows the disincentive effect is working. It also shows that, as the facilities on Nauru are being constructed, this policy is coming into effect. Again, to stand up in this chamber and somehow say that this approach is not going to work is just a total fabrication on behalf of the opposition. They can see the effect that it is having but they choose now that it is starting to work to shift their story again, to find a new way to present some opposition and to politicise this issue. Labor have made a commitment to solving this problem in the long term—to putting in place a durable solution that is part of regional framework. What we do not get from the opposition is any signal, any interest at all, that they want to solve this problem once and for all. They are happy to play the low politics— (Time expired)