Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

In my primary answer I referenced the fact that this is not a policy position or a challenge that can ever be resolved by three-word slogans, and we ended that question with two three-word slogans. As much as Senator Cash might enjoy and relish the opportunity to try and create political mayhem with this issue, the reality is that this is a complex public policy question, a global issue—

Thank you. What I would say is: as to the people we serve here, as well as those who seek to make a perilous journey, we do not do any of them well by treating this issue as a political football. I would remind those opposite that the ambassador for Indonesia has made very clear that their policy will not be agreed to by the Indonesian government.