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

I cannot confirm anything that Senator Cash is saying because, of course, people are seeking asylum. She continues to refer to them as 'illegal entrants' in some way. They are irregular maritime arrivals, they are seeking asylum and they are subject to a processing system that has been recommended to us by an expert working panel.

And, no, I cannot confirm Senator Cash's proposition, and I reject completely what is inherent in her question. In fact, there have been ebbs and flows of people coming on boats over a long period of time, dating right back to 1996. If you look at when the former government was in power, some 13,609 came into Australia by this method. We are obviously facing a number more since then; in fact, in 2012 we have had 15,827. Over time, of course, we expect our processing arrangements to start to impact on these numbers and to draw them down.

Over time, with the implementation of the expert working panel recommendations, we do expect these numbers to drop. We have, of course, implemented those recommendations and we are continuing to. Recently, Minister Bowen made an announcement about reopening some additional detention facilities to cope with the load on the Australian mainland and also to introduce bridging visas to sustain the no-advantage principle that is embedded in our regional processing.

The coalition could, of course, support the Malaysian arrangement, which we feel would make this approach far more successful and have— (Time expired)