House debates Deputy Prime Minister
Asylum Seekers
Sharman Stone Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
3:39 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his 2007 election eve declaration. He said that a Labor government would turn back asylum seeker boats because—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Government Members:
Government members interjecting—
Sharman Stone Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
I repeat—
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House
Mr Albanese interjecting
Sharman Stone Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
I am quoting the Prime Minister’s statement on the eve of the 2007 election: ‘Deterrence is effective through the detention system but also your preparedness to take appropriate action as … vessels approach …’ Prime Minister, with over—
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House
Mr Albanese interjecting
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House
Mr Albanese interjecting
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Order! The Leader of the House is warned. The member for Murray has the call.
Sharman Stone Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
With over 32 boats and over 1,500 unauthorised arrivals since August 2008, when the government began unravelling the immigration policy of the coalition, and with the interception of three more boats in the last few days, will the Prime Minister now concede that he has lost control of who comes into Australia?
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
I thank the member for Murray for her question, which I know would have been personally authorised by the member for Wentworth, the Leader of the Opposition. And I know that the question would also have been authorised by the member for North Sydney as a member of the tactics committee. The honourable member referred to—
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Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The point of order is relevance. I would ask the Prime Minister to have the courage to move a substantive motion if he wants to make those allegations.
Bob Baldwin Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel
Mr Baldwin interjecting
Harry Jenkins Speaker
The chamber really should come to order. I simply say to the member for Paterson that the behaviour of the chamber on both sides has led to the delay, so that sort of commentary is hardly assisting—or an intelligent observation of what is going on. The Prime Minister has been about the only person who has not said anything very much since—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Harry Jenkins Speaker
As I said earlier, there have been many brave people who have been making comments outside the chamber about the conduct of the chamber. Many of them are people who have had greater tolerance from the chair than they perhaps deserved. I simply make the point that most of the chamber—except, now, a handful of exceptions—thought that this was an opportunity for them to have interjections out into the ether. The Prime Minister has been asked a question. Obviously it raised emotional responses from a lot of people. But that is something that members will have to learn to live with. The Prime Minister has the call to respond to the question.
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
I would have thought it was unremarkable to observe that a question like that would have been asked with the support of the tactics committee of the Liberal Party and the National Party. I am not sure whether it would have necessarily had the support of the member for McMillan or the member for Pearce or the member for Kooyong or other members in this place, but there you go.
The honourable member asked questions about asylum seekers and referred to some statistics on that question. I would remind the honourable member that in the period of the Howard government there were around 13,663 arrivals in Australia. In the period that this government has been in office—and this is the most recent figure that I have available—as of 30 August, for this year, it is 1,025. Secondly, the honourable member referred to changes in government policy. I presume the honourable member is referring in particular to the report that the government released in July 2008, called ‘New directions for detention policy’. Recommendation 12 of the report read as follows:
The committee—
Referring to the relevant parliamentary committee—
recommends that, as a priority, the Australian Government introduce amendments to the Migration Act 1958 to enshrine in legislation the reforms to immigration detention policy announced by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.
The day the report was released, the member for Murray, who was a member of the parliamentary committee, said, ‘Labor is very much echoing what we did.’ When asked whether she accepts the recommendations, she said, ‘I do.’
Sharman Stone Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Mr Speaker, I want to make a personal explanation after—
Harry Jenkins Speaker
That comes at the end of question time. You will join a long queue today.
Sharman Stone Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
I just make the point—
Harry Jenkins Speaker
No, the member for Murray will resume her seat. She has indicated that she was going to make a personal explanation at the appropriate time, and I have indicated that she joins a long queue of people who wish to today.