Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. I ask: what sustained effect has the government's strong border protection policies produced and what has been the reaction to this result?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Casey for his question. This government is doing what we said we would do on our borders, and we are getting the results that we said we would get—results which those opposite and others said could not be achieved and which those opposite had given up on. We on this side of House knew in our bones that this could be done and that by applying the right policies in the right hands with the right resolve we would get this job done. And we are getting it done sustainably. For the last 20 weeks, 145 days, there has not been a single, successful maritime people-smuggling venture to Australia—not one.

The last two ministers from among those opposite could not manage a week without a successful people-smuggling venture. Over the same period of 20 weeks there were 135 such successful ventures under the previous government and there were 8,946 illegal arrivals over that period. We know what that cost in terms of lives lost, sadly. We know what the cost was to those who were denied visas, who had to wait because those opposite were handing out visas hand over fist to people arriving illegally by boat. We also know the cost to the budget was a blow-out of $11½ billion, and that was because of their border failures. Tonight's budget will save $2½ billion because of our border protection successes to date. That is what the taxpayer will be saved by getting it right on our borders. That will be achieved in addition to the savings from closing the detention centres that the previous government opened. They went on a 'building the detention centre revolution' when they were in government, and it was fuelled by their border failures. They opened them week after week, bed after bed, centre after centre. Well, we are closing them, and we are closing those centres whether they are in Inverbrackie or Darwin or Curtin—the Curtin centre that they opened and said they would never expand that they expanded to record levels.

I can understand why those opposite are embarrassed by their border failures and dare not speak about them. What I cannot understand is why they hold onto them so tightly. Why do they hold onto the policies that failed under their government and continue to reject the policies of this government, policies that are working? I have a message for them. It comes from the latest Disney movie, Frozen. They are frozen in time. The message is simply this: 'Let it go, Bill—those policies have failed and it is time to let them go.'