House debates

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Questions without Notice

Asylum Seekers

2:44 pm

Photo of Richard MarlesRichard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. I ask the minister about an on-land operation of boat buying. How many Indonesian fishing boats has the government bought since the election?

Photo of Scott MorrisonScott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | | Hansard source

Again, it is an operational matter. But I can tell you this, and that is that the measures which comprise $20 million to effectively engage communities across Indonesia, where we have had great success in getting their cooperation to spread the message about the evils of people smuggling—which those measures and many others that were contained in that package were designed to achieve—are progressing well.