Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
3:28 pm
I seek leave to make a personal explanation.
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Does the member claim to have been misrepresented?
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
I do.
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
On the ABC News website it currently reports, in an article by Jeremy Thompson, that a Greens motion condemning the government over mandatory detention 'has been supported by the opposition'. Can I just refer the House to the actual motion moved by Mr Bandt, which says:
That this House:
(1) condemns the Gillard Government’s deal with Malaysia that would see 800 asylum seekers intercepted in Australian waters and sent to Malaysia; and
(2) calls on the Government to immediately abandon this proposal …
Clearly, the coalition continues to support mandatory detention, and any suggestion to the contrary is a misrepresentation by the journalist.
Harry Jenkins Speaker
I would just remind the member for Cook next time to personalise the representation rather than doing it on behalf of the collective. But I take it that he got his message across.