Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I again commend all members of the House who have participated in this debate for the quality of the contributions. Can I also say how buoyed I am sure all of us are at the considerable success that the rescue effort to our north has had. It seems that well over 100 people have been plucked from the water and what might have been a disaster on the same scale as the one we saw last week has been at least substantially averted.

It is important that the potential for disaster a second time in a week concentrate the minds of this parliament, and that is precisely what we have seen over the last few hours. Can I again say to the parliament that the only way to have real progress from this debate is for this chamber to pass a bill that has a reasonable chance of passage through the Senate as well. Any bill that we pass that has no hope of passing the Senate is not progress; it is just more stalemate.

I have to say that there is no way that the Malaysia people-swap will ever pass the Senate. Quite apart from the fact that it is limited to just 800—and we have seen almost 8,000 illegal arrivals in the time since it was first announced—the way the government has indicated it will act should the Malaysian people-swap be agreed to by the parliament guarantees that the boats will keep coming, only they will be boats full of women and children who the government has said will not go back to Malaysia under the people-swap arrangements. The Malaysia people-swap, I say respectfully to members opposite, will make a bad situation worse. That is why the coalition will never support it. That is why it will never pass the Senate.

In order to try to ensure crossbench and other support for the amendments moved by the member for Cook, I have been prepared to offer to the crossbenchers an increase in Australia's refugee and humanitarian intake from current figures to 20,000 a year within three years. We are prepared to offer that compromise to crossbench members of parliament because we want to get a solution from this debate. And why shouldn't we be prepared to offer to people overseas who want to come to Australia the right way rather than the wrong way more opportunity to do so? Isn't that what a descent and humane country would do?

That is what I have been ready to offer the crossbenchers in an attempt to get the only workable legislative solution through the House of Representatives today. What that will give, should it be supported by this parliament, is humane offshore processing plus, over time, a larger intake. It will in fact provide a legislative basis for precisely that which the Prime Minister supported before the election, when she said that she supported—belatedly—offshore processing but only at countries which have signed the UN refugee convention.

I know that there are many members opposite who are deeply, deeply unhappy with the Malaysia people-swap. I know that there are many members opposite who do not like offshore processing at all, let alone offshore processing in a country whose standards are not ours and that lacks the protections given by the UN convention. I appeal to members opposite to consult your consciences, as we on this side have been consulting our consciences over the last few days, and support legislation that really can be carried by the whole parliament, including the Senate, and take us forward not just keep us stuck. (Time expired)

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