Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister please update the House about the impact of the government's successful border protection policies have had on the number of children in immigration detention? Will the minister also explain any alternative policies?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Petrie most sincerely for the question and for the interest he has in these matters of making sure that we can get kids out of detention, because nobody wants to see anybody in detention, particularly children. I am very proud to be able to report to the House today the number of children in detention—children who came off boats to try and settle in this country—is now down to 34. That is a significant achievement. I have repeated to the House on a number of occasions that we want to get that number down to zero, and I am determined that we will get it down to zero. Not only do we want to stop the boats but we want to make sure that we can get children out of detention as quickly as possible.

It has not always been this successful in this country in terms of border protection policy. When the Labor Party was in government, a couple of people who are sitting on the opposition front bench now were prominent ministers in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. If Mr Shorten was elected at the next election, they would be prominent ministers in a Shorten government. I think it is important to point out a couple of the records of members opposite. The member for McMahon, the shadow Treasurer who has now come up with this disastrous negative gearing policy which is going to drive down housing prices and drive rents up, is the Chevy Chase of this parliament, let me tell you. Everything he touches turns to dirt. He is the Clark Griswold—he presides over every policy disaster. Whether it is in government or in opposition, he is a disaster. Let me read out his record. There were 25,000 people who arrived illegally by boat when he was the immigration minister. Almost 400 boats arrived on his watch, over 4,000 children were taken into detention and six detention centres had to open when he was the minister for immigration.

Since we have been in government—as I have said to this House before—we have had no successful boat arrivals since I have been the minister in this portfolio. We have had no deaths at sea. The number of children in detention, as I say, is now down to 34. Bearing in mind that he was solely responsible for the children in detention, 4,000 under his watch went into detention. Eight thousand in total went into detention.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why did you vote against the Malaysia Solution?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They presided over 17 new detention centres opening in total. We have presided over 13 closing.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about Malaysia? You never answer that.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney will cease interjecting.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have a very serious threat when it comes to border protection because people smugglers are still putting people on boats. People still want to come to this country illegally. The government have been absolutely resolute in our stance in relation to this area of public policy—that is, we are not going to allow people to drown at sea; we are not going to allow boats to restart. But, if Mr Shorten is elected at the next election, rest assured that people, like the man coming to the dispatch box now— (Time expired)