Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

It was a picnic on border protection for the people smugglers. But they have learnt nothing in opposition—absolutely nothing. We heard from the shadow minister yesterday that he has discovered the sunrise and that turn backs actually work. Having worked out that they got it wrong, they still cannot get it right. They cannot bring themselves, as they voted in this House against turn backs just last week, to embrace the policies they now admit work. Today, right across the frontbench and the backbench, the shadow minister for immigration got turned back on turn backs. He was turned back on turn backs because we know those opposite, at the end of the day, do not have the resolve or the ticker to do turn backs, particularly this Leader of the Opposition. We know that if they were ever to occupy these benches again, the people smuggler's picnic would be back because that same indecision, that same division and that same witness would come back.

You can never have any confidence that Labor will do what they say they will do on border protection. The people of Australia know that their hearts are just not in it. If they do not get it by now—that turn backs work and turn backs are essential to stopping the boats—then they never will. We know they never will and the Australian people know they never will.

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