Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator Cash. Can the minister update the Senate on how the government is utilising Australia's humanitarian program to assist Syrians and Iraqis fleeing the brutality of ISIL?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for his question and ongoing interest in this matter. Earlier this year, as senators would be aware, the coalition government made a commitment that in 2014-15 we would provide a minimum of 4,400 resettlement places under the Special Humanitarian Program for people affected by the humanitarian crises in Iraq and Syria. This includes a minimum of 2,200 places for Iraqis, including ethnic and religious minorities fleeing the violence in northern Iraq to neighbouring countries. It also includes a minimum of 2,200 places for Syrians, including those living in desperate conditions in Lebanon.

Our commitment to resettling Syrians and Iraqis escaping the conflict zone highlights without a doubt the humanitarian dividends that are made possible as a result of this government's successful border protection policies. The only dissenting voices to the coalition government's overwhelmingly successful border protection policies are the people smugglers, whose business model we have smashed, and those opposite, still vocally supported by the Greens, who continue to show that they just do not get it.

This government has made it very clear that priority in the humanitarian program should be for those waiting overseas and entering Australia under an orderly process. The brutality of ISIS has been made abundantly clear to all and in the immigration portfolio we are doing everything that we can within an orderly process to ensure that we can assist those who are in these conflict situations.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister inform the Senate of any alternative approaches to how Australia can receive refugees from this conflict zone?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I can. Just yesterday we witnessed an extraordinary outburst from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Ms Plibersek, in which she demonstrated that the Labor Party still just do not understand why it is important for the government of the day to have control over its border policies. She was on Sky News with David Speers. Speersy said on Syria that the government has announced some 4,000 positions for refugees from Syria and Iraq that arguably would not have existed under Labor's policy, when all of those places went to those who came by boat. Ms Plibersek responded:

This is pretty close to the numbers that were coming from these countries in any case.

What Ms Plibersek clearly failed to understand is that those people were coming illegally by boat and they were not coming from source countries. This again shows that those opposite believe that any arrival in Australia is a good arrival and is acceptable. (Time expired)

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate why it is important that Australia has control over its humanitarian refugee resettlement program?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If we do not have control over our Humanitarian Settlement Services program we are effectively doing what those opposite did for the six years they were in government and we are ceding control to the people smugglers. These are the people who market the voyage to Australia with the promise of permanent residency at the end of it. These are the people who are more than willing to put women, men and children on leaky boats, risking their lives again on the false promise of permanent residency in Australia. On this side of the chamber we understand, as do the overwhelming majority of Australians who voted for our policies at the last election, that a government needs to retain control over its resettlement program and, as long as this government is in office, that is exactly what we will do.