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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that prior to the 2007 election former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised to turn boats around and send them back, and that in 2002 Ms Gillard said that turning boats around disrupted people-smuggling operations tremendously, what logical reason does the government have for now refusing to turn around illegal boats if it is safe and possible to do so? Further, can the minister confirm that in the financial year 2002-03 the number of boats that arrived was zero and that the number of people who arrived was zero?