George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

There has been no difference whatsoever in what has been said by any minister on behalf of this government. We do not comment on operational matters, but everything the Australian government does is within the law. One thing the Australian people can be very confident of is that, under this government, unlike the previous government, we have stopped the boats. We have stopped the boats and we make absolutely no excuse for prosecuting the successful policies that stopped the boats, that stopped the people smugglers, that stopped the deaths at sea. If you care to have a look at the record, Senator Di Natale, it will tell you that, under the previous government, 812 illegal vessels journeyed to Australia. In the life of this government, in the nearly two years we have been in government, there has been one.