Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

We've had the genius of the member for Blair, and this is what he said this morning, 'If a person is transferred to Australia for temporary medical treatment we will return them once doctors advise they have completed medical treatment.' The problem is you actually need a section of the act to authorise the return.

Mr Neumann interjecting—

If I and the government are wrong about this—and I'll take this interjection—what is the section of the act, member for Blair, that authorises the return? I'm just listening for a number! Can anyone hear the number? It's a thousand pages of legislation! You could just pick a number if you wanted to! What was the member for Blair's plan? Was he going to go up to Christmas Island and personally ask people, nicely, to go home? Was he going to utilise the mystic powers of the ring of steel? Was that the plan?

If you do not have a statutory power, the people who you are saying that you are treating humanely will be detained indefinitely on Christmas Island. He is a shemozzle member, a shemozzle! (Time expired)

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