Do you know who said this nine years ago?
“Can anyone in this place really imagine that Australia will be processing asylum seeker claims on Nauru in 10 or 20 years?”
It was Julia Gillard in Parliament in 2003. She also called the successful Pacific Solution “the world’s most expensive detour sign” that “does not stop you getting to Australia”.
This week, as you will know, the Parliament debated the recommendations of an expert panel on asylum seekers. This panel was convened after the Prime Minister admitted she had failed to protect Australia’s borders and contracted out her job to a military, foreign policy and refugee expert. Looking at the table below you will see just much of a failure the Labor-Greens border security policy actually was.
The Senate voted to re-start offshore processing in a bid to stop the flow of boats – an overdue move considering since June this year 1642 people have arrived on 27 boats. Unfortunately, the Government continues to refuse to back the Coalition’s other proven border security policies, turning back the boats when safe and temporary protection visas for those found to be refugees.
Together with many of my colleagues, I spoke on this legislation. I made a few points that I think may have been missed in the media coverage so far.
I called for an apology to Phillip Ruddock – the Howard Government’s immigration minister who introduced the Coalition’s successful border security policies. While I was not yet a Member of Parliament, I remember the intense vilification and personal attacks made against Mr Ruddock, especially by Labor and Greens representatives at polling booths. He deserves an apology.
I asked why Julia Gillard has not admitted to the Australian people that her Labor-Greens Government got it wrong. The next time Julia Gillard or any Labor minister asks for their judgement to be trusted this moment needs to be remembered. Not only have they reversed their policy, but they have refused even a basic acknowledgement that the policies they verballed, attacked and vilified were actually effective and right for Australia.
While not having the honesty to admit her years of attacks were simply wrong, Julia Gillard is now making a virtue out of ‘compromise’. Well, compromise on national security is not something to be proud of. It is a sign of weakness, and this is well known throughout our region. National security is not something to compromise on. John Howard took difficult decisions in the national interest, Julia Gillard advertises her ‘compromise’ for political interest.
Finally, I noted my concern that without temporary protection visas, asylum seekers will continue to reach Australian shores. I hope the people smugglers and dangerous boats stop, but I fear they will not.
For years the Labor Party and the Greens vilified Liberal members and supporters across Australia due to our border protection policies. They didn’t simply allege the policies didn’t work, they accused us of being cruel. Remember Labor’s backflip next time they do the same.