Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994 made by the Migration Amendment (Unauthorised Maritime Arrival) Regulation 2013, as contained in Select Legislative Instrument 2013 No. 280 and made under the Migration Act 1958, be disallowed [F2013L02104].

Question agreed to.

Mr President, I seek leave to make a one-minute statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This disallowance motion, which I am pleased to say has passed the Senate today, is really important. This was obviously a regulation to reintroduce temporary protection visas into the Senate through this parliament, effectively through the back door. The reason I say that is that this place debated this issue at length and resolved the issue back in December. But despite the government taking on board the will of the parliament and the will of the Senate—and they waited till everybody went on Christmas holidays—they reintroduced the regulation, despite the fact that there is a convention in this place that regulations that have been disallowed will not be reintroduced in this place within a six-month period. I think it was quite an arrogant move by this government to reintroduce regulations that had been dealt with. Temporary protection visas are cruel. They are ineffective— (Time expired)

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition's position on TPVs is well known and longstanding. We did not support them in government and we do not support them now in opposition. We do not believe this regulation was done in good faith in terms of the processes outlined by Senator Hanson-Young. And we continue to be strongly opposed to this position.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is appropriate to acknowledge in this matter the coalition government's success in breaking the people-smuggling trade that Labor and the Greens fostered for more than five years. In 2007 when the Howard government left office there were just four people in detention who had arrived illegally by boat and none were children. The following year, Labor unwound the coalition's proven measures, abolishing the Pacific Solution, including temporary protection visas. The consequences were disastrous. As we well know, more than 50,000 people arrived illegally by boat, including more than 8,000 children, costing the taxpayer more than $11 billion in budget blow-outs. More than 1,100 people tragically perished at sea and thousands of people were denied a resettlement opportunity because these places had already been taken by those who had arrived illegally. The coalition's policies have proven to be successful. Those on the other side of the chamber should finally recognise that. (Time expired)