Media Release

Joint media release - Labor's 'building the detention centre revolution' costs each Woodside resident over $38K

Thursday 19th April 2012

Chris Bowen’s attempts to spin Labor’s border failures as good for the Woodside community and good for Australia, shows just how desperate and out of touch Labor has become on their border protection failures, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Scott Morrison and Federal Member for Mayo, Jamie Briggs said.

“Labor’s spin has no limits, trying to cynically pass off their border failures as some type of economic stimulus package for local residents. It’s a joke,” Mr Morrison said.

“It shows just how desperate and out of touch the Gillard Government has become. Not content with creating chaos on our borders and in detention centres around the country, at exorbitant cost to the taxpayer by dismantling the Howard Government’s strong border protection policies, Minister Bowen now wants Australians to thank him for it.

“Minister Bowen not only presides over a broken and failed border protection regime, he is now insisting that his government’s failed policies, which have seen over 16,600 people arrive on illegal boats, are good for Australia.

“Despite how Chris Bowen wants to spin this, Labor’s failed border protection policies have wasted billions of dollars, resulting in a blow out in their budget of $3.9 billion with more on the way.

“The Coalition remains committed to proven border protection policies that stop the boats, get our border protection system under control, end the billions in wasteful spending and close facilities like Inverbrackie that stand as the proof of Labor’s border failures,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Briggs said: “The government has spent $64.8 million on the facility at Inverbrackie. That’s $138,229 for each of the alleged 463 jobs created by Labor’s failed policies, and $38,006 for each of Woodside’s 1,705 residents.

“Chris Bowen says that he ‘hopes’ the Woodside community will ‘continue to reap the benefits’ of the facility. No Australian is reaping any benefit from Labor’s failed border protection policies that has cost the Australian taxpayers an extra $3.9 billion to date.

“The anger expressed by local residents over the Inverbrackie facility was never directed at asylum seekers but towards the Gillard Labor Government who announced this facility without any consultation. But to say that this is all somehow a perfect ending and a great thing for the Australian economy is fanciful,” Mr Briggs said.