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

I notice today that the Labor Party and the Leader of the Opposition have come out and said that they are not supporting the Migration Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1). Once again the Labor Party goes weak on border protection. What has the Leader of the Opposition said? What is his excuse for being weak on border protection? He says, 'Oh, they're genuine refugees.' Hang on, they are not genuine refugees; they are illegal maritime arrivals. Ask the people that have waited 15 years in the queue to come into this country whether people who arrive by boat are genuine refugees. He also said that citizens of the US and Canada may face a ban. I have news for the Leader of the Opposition: you do not represent the people of the US and Canada; you represent Australians, and they do not want people coming here illegally by boat. We know Labor's record.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Every single one of those opposite, including the members for Sydney and Jagajaga, made the chaos when they weakened our border protection laws that John Howard had in place. What was the result? Fifty thousand people came on 800 boats, 2,000 children were in detention when I was elected in 2013, and 1,200 people drowned at sea. No, we will not go back there. Australians want sovereign borders. We know that Labor are weak on border protection. Every single person throughout the Petrie electorate and right around this nation will know, at the 2019 election, to put Labor last if they want Australia's borders to remain sovereign. (Time expired)