Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I seek to make a personal explanation.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the member claim to have been misrepresented?

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, very much.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) | Link to this | Hansard source

Please proceed.

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

During question time the Prime Minister suggested that during my tenure as minister for immigration Australia did not work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and by implication did not honour its international obligations to refugees. Never while I was minister did Australia refoule a person found to be a refugee and, further, Australia at that time funded and worked very closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as evidenced by the fact that the testing of the claims by those people found on the Tampa were undertaken by the UNHCR.