DAILY SERVICE CONTINUES AS ANOTHER ILLEGAL BOAT ARRIVES
Posted on Saturday, 4 August, 2012
The arrival of the latest illegal boat, with 68 people on board, is the continued consequence of Labor’s refusal to restore the proven border protection policies they abolished, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Scott Morrison and Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection, Michael Keenan said today.
"People smugglers are once again running a daily service, with another illegal boat arrival today," Mr Morrison said.
"Labor have never admitted they got it wrong when they abolished the Howard Government’s proven border protection policies, have never acknowledged that those policies worked and refuse to act to restore those policies that stopped the boats.
"The Australian people know that a Coalition Government will implement the Coalition’s policies that stopped the boats, and so do the people smugglers. To stop the boats, we don’t need another committee, we need another election.
"There is nothing preventing the government from implementing the Coalition’s proven policies aside from their own stubborn pride. If the government claims it needs legislation it can pass the Coalition’s Bill already on the notice paper when parliament resumes to have offshore processing in any of the 148 countries that have signed the refugee convention," Mr Morrison said.
Mr Keenan said: "Over 2000 people have now arrived in the first few weeks of this financial year alone and yet this Government still refuses to take the necessary action to fix the chaos at Australia’s borders.
"Labor has made it so easy for anyone to just jump on a boat and come to Australia that that is exactly what is happening at an increasingly alarming rate.
"People smugglers continue to make millions of the back of Labor’s policy failures and inability to fulfil the role of the Commonwealth and protect our borders. The Government’s own stubbornness and pride is the only thing standing in the way of solving this issue – the Coalition’s proven border protection policies will stop the boats from coming," Mr Keenan said.