House debates Questions without Notice

Asylum Seekers

Tuesday, 22 May 2012 House of Representatives

Wayne Swan

Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer

2:40 pm

They might like to pretend that Nauru was a solution; it was not. But there is a solution out there that can be put in place. It is called overseas processing, it is called the Malaysian arrangement, and they are blocking it. And why are they blocking it? Because they know it will work—because they have made the judgment that they will not support overseas processing, which is the only measure which will break the people smugglers' model. They will not support it because they think it is in their political interest to have more boats arriving in Australia. So they get up and ask questions about boats arriving in Australia, but the blame rests fairly and squarely with them and their refusal to support overseas processing.

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