Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, Senator Reynolds. The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed:

From 1 July 2014 to 31 January 2019, 81,596 Protection visa applications were lodged by persons who entered Australia lawfully by air.

Ninety per cent of these airplane people were found not to be refugees. In that same period we have seen bridging visas blowout from 94,000 to almost 230,000. That's an increase of over 140 per cent. Why has the minister allowed for the large blowout in bridging visas and airplane people under his watch?

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Kenneally, for that question. I'm not quite sure who 'airplane people' are, but I presume you're talking about air arrivals. Perhaps—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have Senator Keneally on a point of order.

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister said she didn't know who airplane people are. As I quoted from the Department of Home Affairs, they are 81,596 protection visa applicants who arrived—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Keneally! Please resume your seat. I grant some freedom for people to draw attention to relevance, but 10 seconds in is not an opportunity to reread the question. Senator Reynolds.

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition are a complete joke on this. Here's the issue on this issue of air arrivals: when people arrive illegally by boat they rarely have identification documents. We have no information on them, and that means an extended protection claim and legal process. In addition, these people also risk their lives on a perilous journey.

However, in contrast, when people arrive by airplane we have their passports, as well as any other relevant travel documentation. We know who that person is, and that allows us to take a quick consideration of their protection claim. In addition, a plane flight is considerably safer than a boat journey. So here are the facts, which those opposite either ignore or don't choose to look at: between 2014-15 and 2017-18, 64,362 people arrived by air and subsequently applied for protection. In the same four-year period, 7,615 people were granted a protection visa. This is a refusal rate of approximately 90 per cent.

Those who are rejected are expected to return to their country of origin. So you might be trying to get some easy press on this, but the reality is we have a growing number of international students, of tourists coming to our country and that is a great thing. We want all of those numbers to increase. As numbers increase, of course you will get an increase in all sorts of categories of people arriving, making claims to stay, and so you would expect that number to grow merely by the fact of the number of people who come here by air. But the government is taking appropriate steps to deal with this, including through the use of airport liaison officers in Dubai, in major hub ports so we can offload people where we know there is a threat.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Keneally, a supplementary question.

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for repeating the fact I put in my question back to me in her answer. The new Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs, Jason Wood—

Senator Payne interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Keneally, please continue.

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

May I get my time back, please?

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There were interjections on both sides. I will grant some discretion.

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The new Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs, Jason Wood, remarked on the blowout of aeroplane arrivals and said, 'Organised crime and illegitimate labour hire companies are using this loophole.' Minister, is this true?

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm somewhat bemused that Senator Keneally would ask a question that she clearly thought she already knew the answer to. Let me provide you with facts about air arrivals. If the information I provided you wasn't enough, let me provide some more facts. Between 1 January and 31 May this year, there was a 32 per cent decrease in protection visa applications lodged by Malaysians compared to the same period in 2018. Between 1 January and 31 May 2019, there was a 20 per cent decrease in the number of protection visa applications lodged across all nationalities. These declining figures are noteworthy—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong on a point of order.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is direct relevance. The minister is talking about protection visas. The question is about Mr Wood's comment—that organised crime and illegitimate labour hire companies are using the loophole. We would ask you to remind her of the question.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With the noise around the chamber, I appreciate being reminded of the question because I had trouble hearing it. The minister may have had trouble hearing it as well. She has 22 seconds remaining to answer. Senator Reynolds.

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was being directly relevant because I'm talking about the reason for the increased numbers and what we are doing to decrease the numbers of people we do not want to come into this country. The information I gave is directly relevant. You might not like the fact but it was directly relevant, and my answer stands.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Keneally, a final supplementary question.

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Migration Institute of Australia said: 'People smugglers in Malaysia have got a whole industry set up …' Why has the minister allowed criminals to set up a new people-smuggling industry at Australian airports on his watch? Is he just lazy or incompetent?

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Keneally, I think it is the height of cheek and hubris to talk about illegal arrivals to this country, because, as everybody in this chamber knows, it was those opposite who opened our borders and let people-smuggling rings right across our region bring 50,000 people into our country. It was you who opened all of the detention centres, offshore and onshore. And it was under your government, when last in government, 1,200 people died at the hands of people smugglers, so I have got to say it is the height of cheek and hubris and deception to try and draw that bow to this side of the government, because we are extremely proud of our record of fixing up your mess and stopping the deaths that you caused.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.