Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Lundy. I refer the minister to the fact that five boats carrying over 300 people have arrived since the start of the week, 10 boats carrying over 600 people have arrived in just the last seven days and 1,000 people have arrived this month. This is the biggest March ever for illegal boat arrivals as well as the biggest first quarter of any calendar year. Why is this government more concerned with fighting amongst themselves than fighting the people smugglers? Why are you trying to protect your own jobs rather than protecting the integrity of our borders?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a typically shallow approach to a very serious issue by members of the opposition. We are faced with the fact that for far too long now people smugglers have been able to peddle their lies and false promises, and that has led to far too many deaths at sea. The government's priority is to discourage people from making a dangerous boat journey and encourage the use of regular migration pathways.

In response to the report of the expert panel—and I know the opposition have heard this many times before, but I will tell them again—we are committed to implementing 22 recommendations that put in place a comprehensive approach to solving this problem. In particular, we are committed to establishing offshore processing centres on Nauru and PNG. We have announced that people who arrive by boat from August 2012 will gain no advantage over those who apply for protection offshore through the regular pathway, and we are increasing our refugee intake from 13,500 to 20,000 people a year to create an incentive to engage in the regular migration pathway.

Our message is very clear: anyone coming to Australia by boat without a visa will be subject to the no-advantage principle, including transfer to Nauru or PNG. As the full suite of recommendations of the expert panel is implemented, the government expects the business model of the people smugglers to crumble and fewer people waste their money and risk their lives on these very dangerous boat journeys across the sea.

Real results will begin to show as more of the recommendations can be implemented. If the coalition were really concerned about the number of people, they would not let their relentless negativity stand in the way of implementing all 22 recommendations of the expert panel. (Time expired)

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I refer the minister to the fact that a staggering 85 per cent of the 40,000 offshore humanitarian applicants were refused Australian visas last year compared to just nine per cent of applicants who arrived here illegally by boat. Why does this government persist in penalising those who do the right thing and persist with policies that encourage people smugglers?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, I totally reject the premise of Senator Cash's question. The issue here is that the coalition have an opportunity to support Labor's approach to offshore processing and they have continued to fail to do that. We have presented the opportunity to the coalition—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! When there is silence, we will proceed.

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have continually presented the opportunity to the opposition to support our approach to offshore processing in Malaysia. We have continually offered to negotiate with them about the package, and that was rejected. In fact, I remind those opposite that when discussions were occurring around the offshore processing bills we offered to sit down with the coalition and work out a consensus solution with them. They rejected that. They moved again. Why? Because they insist on playing politics with an issue that is costing people's lives. They are negligent and irresponsible in this regard.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given it was former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former foreign minister Kevin Rudd who started the flood of illegal boats and given that it is the current Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who has failed to stop them, when will the government face the facts that changing the leader of the Labor Party will not stop the boats and that only a change of government—one with proven policies—will get our borders under control?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again the coalition seeks to make a trivial point about a serious issue. We do have a comprehensive plan to stem the flow of boats. We are absolutely committed to breaking the people smugglers' business model, and yet all we get from those opposite are pathetic questions relating to the leadership issues rather than the issues of substance. Why is that the case?

The other point I make is that the coalition do not have a policy. They do not have a solution. They keep saying they do, but we know that it did not work. If they had the guts to support Labor's approach we might see some results, particularly if they support our Malaysian offshore proposal and try to actually find it in their hearts to work with Labor to see what we can do to stem the flow of boats.