Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

What we see from the opposition is the cheapest playing of politics. Indeed, when the shadow minister for immigration raised similar spectres to this he was quickly repudiated by members of the opposition backbench and the shadow Treasurer refused to associate himself with those remarks. So it will be interesting to see today whether or not opposition members of goodwill are prepared to associate themselves with the implications of the Leader of the Opposition's question.

What the Leader of the Opposition well knows is the following: No. 1—he came to the parliament and voted for more boats; No. 2—the Australian government, of course, operates a system where there are detention arrangements and security work undertaken. The Leader of the Opposition knows that. For the Leader of the Opposition to try to raise fear and alarm in the community about these matters is truly disgraceful, one of the new lows in Australian politics, and I trust he will not continue down this ugly path and, if he does, that those members of the opposition who have been prepared to stand up and be counted for decency in the past will do it again.

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