Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I do thank the member for Denison for his question. I know that this is a subject that he takes very, very seriously. I know that this is a subject that we all take seriously. I accept the passion and the compassion that the member for Denison brings to this particular subject.

None of us want to see anyone in detention. We certainly do not want to see children in detention. I can inform the member for Denison that at the end of the Howard government era there were only four people in immigration detention who had arrived illegally by boat, and none of them were children. I regret to say that in the period between that time and this time more than 50,000 people arrived illegally in Australia by boat, including 8,000 children. I deeply regret the fact that so many people, including so many children, took this very dangerous journey. Let us be blunt. The reason that the boats started coming—

Mr Burke interjecting—

See this speech in context