Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I always love following Senator Cash because she makes me feel cool, calm and collected—not like Senator Cash. You have to put in context what Senator Cash has just said and you have to understand what she has said to this place on many occasions. What Senator Cash is about is the dog whistle. It is about refugees not getting a fair go and it is about stopping the boats. They hold the part of the debate that goes to the lowest common denominator. That is Senator Cash. Every time she is on her feet the whistle is blowing. That is the reality.

The Labor Party is not prepared to go down that path because we are very clear that people have to be treated fairly, people have to be treated equitably and, if people have a genuine claim for refugee status, then they should get that status. They should not have temporary protection visas where they never know if they can start a life here or not. They should not be treated as someone different because they have a different religion, as we have heard from across on your side. We are not prepared to go into that approach, which is not very far away from a position adopted by the British National Party in the UK—the worst lowest common denominator you can get.

We are prepared to take these issues on, as we are prepared to take on all of the big debates that are important. Here we have this debate about protecting our borders. Our borders are secure. You know that our borders are secure because we have a situation unlike that of other countries. This is an international problem where people all over the world are looking for protection. They are looking for somewhere they can go to have religious freedom, to have their social rights looked after and to have a decent life. Where else would they want to come but Australia? Australia is a country that looks after all of these issues.