Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Conroy. I refer to the letter sent by the South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local to the Prime Minister seeking urgent injection of resources to help cope with the effects of the government's decision to release asylum seekers into the community. I also refer the minister to the fact that in their letter the Medicare Local described the situation in the south-eastern Melbourne community as 'a simmering time bomb.' They warned of their concerns about 'increasing violence and crime, including gang related brawls and increasing drug and alcohol issues.' Why has the government chosen to pass the buck onto the states to deal with these problems rather than take responsibility for the effects of its border protection failures?