Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on today’s MPI, which is about the impact of the government’s failed border protection policies. We have witnessed the epic failure of those policies, having seen four boats arrive in just under four days. It is evidence that the Prime Minister has lost control of Australia’s border protection system. He refuses to take responsibility for the chaos he has caused with his handling of the Oceanic Viking stand-off in Indonesia over the past 31 days. He shows no leadership; he takes no responsibility. The Australian people are entitled to know who is in control of Australia’s border protection policy because it is certainly not the Prime Minister. One might ask whether it is the people smugglers or perhaps even the Indonesian President.

The micro-managing, all-controlling Prime Minister has now lost control. The House was told yesterday that he was not aware of any special deals negotiated with the Sri Lankan asylum seekers on board the Oceanic Viking and that his staff were involved. However, he was not kept in the loop. No-one reported back to him before the deal was struck. It was signed off without his knowledge. Perhaps the Prime Minister’s staff are responsible for Labor’s colossal failure in border protection. It seems it was his staff who approved the offer. The deal negotiated with the Sri Lankan asylum seekers was a fast-tracked resettlement into Australia in four to six weeks—and the Prime Minister continues to claim that it is no special deal.

I was intrigued by his answers in question time today. In a desperate attempt to remain at arm’s length from the problem, he said that the border protection committee of cabinet is chaired by the immigration minister and includes ministers or their representatives, staff, his own staff and officials. Yes, he was aware that negotiastions were under way but he had no prior knowledge—he did not authorise a particular course of action. So this committee, chaired by the immigration minister, appears to have only staff and officials in attendance. But wait: it operates under standard cabinet procedures of confidentiality. The Prime Minister told us that in a subsequent answer. So here is a committee which does not report to him, which consists of officials and staff and about which it is inappropriate to ask questions—questions about its conclusions, its outcomes or its documentation—because we should know that it operates under standard cabinet procedures of confidentiality. It is ridiculous—entirely ridiculous.

Either the Prime Minister is so out of touch that he does not realise that this is a matter of great concern to the Australian people or he did know but he will not fess up; or, worse still, he has failed to provide leadership on this difficult issue to a divided cabinet, a bit like his decision on the book industry. He was absent from Australia, yes, but no-one knows what he thinks. He was unable to provide leadership. Maybe he is backing away from this border protection committee of cabinet. He does not want to know and he does not want to be told. Whatever option is really the truth, we can conclude that the Prime Minister lacks political courage. In the House yesterday, a copy of the proposal put to the asylum seekers said:

If UNHCR has found you to be a refugee—Australian officials will assist you to be resettled within four to six weeks …

According to the UNHCR’s website, the number of refugees under its mandate worldwide is approximately 11.4 million. So when the Prime Minister was asked if there were any other refugees in Indonesia who had been guaranteed resettlement within four to six weeks, he had no answer because no others had been offered this special deal to be fast tracked to Australia. There are also no other asylum seekers within Australia who have been guaranteed resettlement within four to six weeks. The Prime Minister needs to be up front with the Australian people and confirm the special deal for what it is.

Nowhere is this colossal policy failure more evident than on Christmas Island, which I have just visited. The island and the community are at breaking point. The detention centre, built for 800, is now housing 962—and more now because that was a week ago. A greenfield site is hastily being prepared out the back. Hercules aircraft are flying in with portables, tents and mattresses to build a tent city. It is ridiculous for this government to maintain that it knows what it is doing. When you see the events unfold in front of your eyes on Christmas Island you realise the complete loss of control. I remind people that, since August 2008, 52 unauthorised boats have arrived carrying more than 2,200 people. The statistics speak for themselves. (Time expired)

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