Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Georganas, for the opportunity to speak on this. I want to associate myself with the shadow minister for home affairs and all her comments. I welcome the debate from the crossbench as well, and note their keen deliberation in this very topical, humane and important debate. I don't necessarily agree with them, but I think it's a good thing in a place of debate to be able to debate respectfully. I've spent some time in Nauru. I've been there before. I have worked there. Many of my friends from the military who couldn't find employment in the civilian world ended up working in Nauru and on Manus Island. I have seen the great work that our border protection officers, our AFP officers and the people of these countries—whether it has been on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea or in Nauru—do to support people.

I've seen people come via boat with nothing at all. The former speaker said that almost everyone who comes or wants to come are fleeing dangers—almost everyone. There are times when people smugglers come with the boat and don't know who they are. People don't have identification. They're stateless, which makes it even more challenging to work out the supports needed or what we need to do to be able to help people. But, when the boats were coming, before people were getting directed to Nauru, 1,200 people died at sea. They were children, fathers and mothers, who were drowning, on fire or eaten by sharks. I've seen the photos, which I'm sure others in this place have seen as well. It is gut-wrenching, it is heartbreaking and it should not happen.

We must have not just a deterrent for people smugglers but also an opportunity to find out who people are. Our No. 1 job in this place is to keep people safe, to protect this nation and to ensure that people who are coming via boat or coming as refugees are legitimate refugees. This process takes time, and often people that are on Nauru or on Manus Island are given opportunities to relocate to other countries or to return home. The majority of the time, and definitely in my experience, they didn't want to return home and they didn't want to go to another country. They wanted to go to Australia. I've seen horrible things. People have sewn their mouths shut or eaten things that would upset their stomach and given things to children in order to be removed and to try and come to Australia.

I think that it's to our credit that we can say that we removed children from detention. No-one wants to see children in detention. Like the former speaker, I've served, and I've seen some horrible things in the Middle East. I've also seen some horrible things that people have done to other people in Nauru. I've seen the worst in humanity. I believe that we must have offshore processing centres and I believe that stopping the boats saves lives. No-one wants to see drownings at sea and children being killed.

I do think that there needs to be a quick, robust way to find people who have found themselves a way into settlement. That has worked with other nations. But I am a firm believer in the coalition's policy that, if you come by boat, then you won't be resettled in Australia. I do believe in that. I think that has stopped boats coming and stopped people dying at sea. But not everyone agrees with this and that's fine. This is the place for debate.

It does pains me, though, to think what may have happened during the last few months when there hasn't been a policy if people were in the middle of the ocean because they've sunk their ship or they've sunk their boat. What would have happened to those children? This government was asleep. We've heard that the immigration minister doesn't support boat turnbacks. He moved a motion in his branch. I do think that the minister for immigration, especially, should address the parliament and address his position. I do think that this isn't a time where long barbs will be thrown—little ones, not long ones—but I don't want to see the boats start again. I do not want to see people dying at sea and I do not want to see horrendous things happen like those that I've seen happen to children who have died at sea.

We've got many Border Force officers, Navy personnel and people who have had to pick up these children and these families out of the ocean, and the scars and trauma that they will live with for the rest of their lives is absolutely horrendous. We don't want to see the boats starting again. We want to ensure that we protect everyone inside Australia by ensuring we have strong, robust border protection laws.

See this speech in context