Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I'm proud to second the member for Scullin's motion. The Department of Immigration was established in 1945. Its mission was nation-building, administrating Australia's migration program, attracting the best and brightest to make Australia a competitive global powerhouse—not only numerically but also economically and socially—and it oversaw the successful settlement of many of our seven million postwar migrants. Sadly, the department's most recent history has seen it battered by the core, destructive elements of Liberal ideology. Liberals believe in small government—that is, governments should not provide services. So, once Liberals obtain power, they are quick to run-down or sell-off publicly owned assets and services.

Mr Tim Wilson interjecting—

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