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

Madam Speaker, members on the other side are touchy on this, because in the last six months there has been not a single boat and no illegal arrivals by boat. In the comparable period under the former government there were almost 200 illegal boats and almost 13,000 illegal arrivals by boat. Operation Sovereign Borders is working. The boats are stopping, and that is saving lives. The boats are stopping, and that is saving the budget $2½ billion.

I pay tribute to everyone involved in Operation Sovereign Borders, from the minister and General Campbell to the naval and Customs personnel, the police, the intelligence and the immigration staff, who are making it all work. I also pay tribute to our partner governments in Nauru, PNG, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia, whose corporation is also making these successful policies possible. Combating the people smugglers is an ongoing effort, but this government will remain vigilant to ensure that our borders are secure and our country is safe.

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