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

It is really incumbent upon me to take Senator Cash to task with the ridiculous claims that she is putting forward about the coalition's record on this matter. There is no substance to her proposition that somehow the coalition government had a solution to this problem. They did not—and they stood across this chamber and supported us in the implementation of the legislation that gave effect to the expert panel's advice. We are putting that in place.

With regard to turning back the boats: the coalition knows full well that it is not possible. For that to be possible Indonesia would have to agree, and they do not. For that to be possible, it would have to be safe to do so. We know because of the advice we have received from the ADF that it is not safe to do so. And yet the coalition continue to walk in here and promote this claptrap as some kind of policy solution; it is just not true.