Media Release

Gillard arrives at people smuggling front line but won't stop the boats

Friday 30th July 2010

The Coalition has challenged Julia Gillard to use her visit to Western Australia, following Labor's 150th illegal boat arrival, to acknowledge Labor's 150 policy failures and announce policies that will stop the boats arriving off Australia’s north west, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Scott Morrison and Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection, Michael Keenan said today.

“A day after Labor's 150th illegal boat arrival and Labor's 150th policy failure, Julia Gillard has flown into Western Australia where she will also fail to commit to Western Australians to take real action to stop the people smuggling boats from arriving,” Mr Morrison said.

“The people smugglers know that as long as Labor is in business they are in business,” he said.

“Julia Gillard will today continue the mass transfers of asylum seekers to the WA mainland, continue warehousing people smugglers in WA prisons and won’t stop WA taxpayers from continuing to foot the bill for the $1.1 billion border protection blow out that is growing every day,” he said.

“Julia Gillard simply doesn’t have any policy or resolve to stop boat arrivals. The East Timorese Foreign Minister da Costa this week said his country was still waiting for basic details on the so-called ‘plan’ for a regional processing centre in his country. This is no more than a never never plan designed as an election fix.

“The only way to send a message to people smugglers and change Labor’s policies that have encouraged people smugglers, is to change the government,” he said.

Mr Keenan said: “This Labor Government has been bad for WA from the day they took office.

“They have imposed a massive new tax on mining, abandoned their $100 million WA Infrastructure Fund and held back $350 million in federal funding for WA hospitals made available to all the Eastern States.

“And now Prime Minister Gillard is running away from her responsibility to protect Australia’s borders.

“Under Labor’s watch 150 boats have arrived, almost all of which have been intercepted off WA’s coast.

“WA’s prisons are filling with people smugglers, while our towns and mining camps are being turned into processing centres to accommodate the flood of illegal arrivals.

“Julia Gillard and her Labor Government have abused the trust the people of Australia have put in her, especially in WA and especially on the issue of border protection.

“Labor doesn’t deserve a second chance,” he said.