Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the question. The government's actions to stop the boats from arriving recently passed a significant milestone, with more illegal arrivals having left Australia and offshore processing centres since the commencement of Operation Sovereign Borders than have arrived. While 1,111 people arrived illegally by boat from 18 September until 19 December last year—before our full suite of border protection policies was introduced—over 1,120 people have now either voluntarily returned home from offshore processing centres or have departed Australia.

In other words, what we are now seeing, with the coalition government's border protection policies, is a very significant increase in the number of people who are voluntarily going back—particularly among those who are on bridging visas. The facts show that, when illegal maritime arrivals discover they are not going to get a permanent protection visa from this government, they are voluntarily putting their hands up to return home. When you take off the table the promise of the people smugglers—that a government will encourage people to come here and will reward those people with permanent protection—and you say, 'No, the only thing you will get if you come to Australia is a temporary protection visa,' the fact that people are now putting their hands up and saying, 'I want to return home,' shows that our policies work.