Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Four people had come in an unauthorised manner by boat and were in detention during the time of the Howard government. How many had come over the last five years of the Howard government? Was it 10,000? Was it 20,000? Was it 50,000? No. It was 300 people who had come illegally by boat in the last five years of the Howard government. You oversaw one of the most graphic public policy failures in this country: spending more than $11½ billion, wasting the taxpayers' money; more than 800 boats; more than 50,000 unauthorised boat arrivals. We had the tragedy in our relationship with Indonesia over the Oceanic Viking . We had the so-called East Timor solution where you did not consult the Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and then you had the so-called Malaysia Solution, which was disallowed by the High Court.

In contrast, we had a successful policy. So what have we done since coming back to office? We have done a lot to stop the boats. We have already put in place Operation Sovereign Borders and, as we heard from the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, in just the first eight weeks of Operation Sovereign Borders the number of people coming in an unauthorised manner by boat compared to the last eight weeks of your government is down 75 per cent. We have temporary protection visas—TPVs—working back; we have much better cooperation in offshore processing; and we have re-established our humanitarian visa program to ensure that people who need those visas actually get them.

Then our Prime Minister made a successful visit to CHOGM where he announced that we are going to give a couple of patrol boats to Sri Lanka. Who do you think came out in support of that? Was it the Leader of the Opposition? No. Was it the shadow minister for foreign affairs? No. It was Bob Carr. Bob Carr came out in support of the Prime Minister doing something to stop this illegal people-smuggling trade by giving a couple of patrol boats to Sri Lanka.

It has been said by those opposite that there is a lack of transparency. I can tell you now that in this weekly briefing we are providing information to the Australian people that is consistent with an effective policy to stop the boats. You do not want to provide the people-smugglers with information that can be used to ply their evil and destructive trade. Do not take my word for it. Listen to Lieutenant General Angus Campbell who said about announcements in relation to providing information on the nationalities of those who are coming illegally by boat, or the locations of those boats: 'These announcements arm people-smugglers with information to convince people to get on boats.' What about the former chief of the Australian Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who said last Friday:

… the military way of doing things is to operate with a higher degree of operational security to keep the people smugglers on the back foot, and I think that's really why there's a need for operational security, and that's why things are the way they are at the moment.

This is an uncomfortable debate because those opposite try to portray us as being cruel on people who are coming to this country in an unauthorised manner. But what we are doing is protecting Australia's sovereignty and ensuring that the people smugglers cannot ply their evil trade. You opposite were neglectful in government and now you are neglectful and failing your duty as the opposition. We have stopped the boats before; John Howard proved what an effective policy it was. We will stop the boats again. We will defend Australia's national sovereignty and defend Australia's national interest.

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