Daily Telegraph Blog: Tony Abbott

16/09/11

http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/yoursay/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/whats_plan_b_prime_minister/

This week in the parliament the Prime Minister has been demanding that the Coalition support legislation to validate the Malaysia people swap that the High Court struck down.

It’s not the opposition’s job to support bad policy from a bad government. Our job is to promote policy that would actually stop the boats and to oppose policy that’s already been proven not to do so.

Offshore processing in Nauru, temporary protection visas for people found to be refugees, and turning boats around where that’s safe is the policy that stopped the boats under the Howard government. The prospect of being sent to Malaysia is the policy that has been proven not to stop the boats under the Gillard government. When it comes to deterring boat people, the prospect of Nauru is a proven success. The prospect of Malaysia is a proven failure.

Between 2002 and 2007, with offshore processing at Nauru, there were fewer than three boats a year. Since the Rudd/Gillard government dismantled offshore processing in August 2008, there have been, on average, almost two boats a week.

Thanks to the government’s stubborn refusal to leave well enough alone, more than 240 boats have arrived with more than 12,000 people. Although it’s now more than a year since the government first said that it wanted to recommence offshore processing, not a single boat person has yet been processed offshore. The government first announced an offshore centre before it had even discussed it with the East Timorese government, announced a Manus Island centre before the PNG government had agreed, and announced the Malaysia people swap before discussions had been concluded. If the government had been serious, it could have recommenced offshore processing in Nauru at any time.

Over 1000 boat people have arrived since the Malaysia people swap was first announced and 400 have arrived since the deal was signed. So the government’s existing policy to stop the boats hasn’t worked and it has no policy to stop the boats once the 800 people who can be transferred to Malaysia have arrived. There is no Plan B.

Malaysia is not offshore processing; Malaysia is offshore dumping.

Julia Gillard is again proposing to break a pre-election commitment: this time one not to send boat people to a country that hadn’t signed the Refugee Convention. “I would rule out anywhere that is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention”, she told Radio 6PR in July last year.

Why should the Coalition help the Prime Minister again to break her word to the Australian people?