Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hume for her question. As we have said today in debate on the bill that came before the Senate, the Morrison government, the Liberal-National government, understands that the fundamental priority of a Commonwealth government must be the security of Australia's borders. We make no excuses for that at all. When we came into office in 2013, we said we would put in place the right policies to ensure that we stopped the boats, we stopped the deaths at sea, we got the children out of detention and, ultimately, we were able to close the detention centres. That was a tough suite of policies. We put in place turnbacks, a policy that those on the other side said would never work. Well, guess what? Turnbacks have worked. We also have a fundamental commitment to offshore processing. That is something that, again, has been integral to the policies that we put into place. Of course the third part of the suite of policies was temporary protection visas.

You need to be tough but fair when it comes to border protection in Australia. The policies that we have put in place have been successful. Why? Because, as Senator Hume knows, you do not blink when it comes to national security. You do not blink when it comes to securing Australia's borders. If you do, what do you see? Fifty thousand people arriving on over 800 boats, as with the border protection policy of the other side, and 1,200 deaths at sea that we know of. We will always maintain our resolve in relation to Australia's border security.