April 7, 2024
JAMES PATERSON: Good afternoon. Another day, another boat, another Labor failure. Media reports over the weekend indicate that the third boat since the election has made it through Australia's offshore protections, made it all the way to the mainland, dropped off asylum seekers and returned again undetected. It's the 13th boat since the election to attempt an illegal people smuggling venture and it's no surprise why. Aerial surveillance hours under this government's watch have dropped 20%. Maritime patrol days have dropped 12% and the result of that is people getting through by getting onshore and our border protection regime is being undermined. The Minister for Home Affairs needs to stand up today and explain yet another failure on her watch, yet another collapse of our border protection regime on this government's watch. Because since the election, this government has done many things to undermine our successful policies to stop people smugglers. Firstly, they abolished temporary protection visas. Secondly, in their most recent budget, they set out hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts over the forward estimates to border protection. And this government has publicly trashed key features of our successful Operation Sovereign Borders policy, including regional processing. So it's no surprise that people smugglers are testing their will. It's very unfortunate that they appear to have been successful in this instance, getting people through our borders onto the Australian mainland.
JOURNALIST: This is only the second boat of Chinese asylum seekers since 2012. Are you concerned by the potential, establishment of a new route?
PATERSON: It certainly is unusual, if true, that it is Chinese nationals on this people smuggling venture. As you say, there haven't been any for a decade. That is unusual. But it's true that people from all nations attempt to come to Australia. We are an attractive destination. What's interesting about this is there was a media report a week ago, ten days ago in the Sydney Morning Herald on The Age that said there were Chinese nationals in Indonesia who were seeking to come to Australia and reported that that that operation had been successfully thwarted by the Australian Federal Police and their partners. Clearly, if that is true that these Chinese nationals have made it through, then that attempt to disrupt the operation was not successful.
JOURNALIST: We've been accused of politicising this issue and potentially sending quite a dangerous message to people smugglers who are looking at wording and messaging within governments. What do you say to that?
PATERSON: I don't accept that at all. It's the job of the opposition to hold the government for its failures and there have been demonstrable failures on their watch. Three boats through to the Australian mainland, 13 attempted since the election, hundreds of attempted asylum seekers coming to our country as a direct result of the government's attempts to undermine our successful border protection policies. We warned them before they abolished temporary protection visas, that that would give people an incentive to get on the boats again to try and come again. And lo and behold, that's exactly what's happened. If this government had followed our advice, kept in place our successful policies, this wouldn't be happening.
JOURNALIST: Border Force has said that funding is actually higher under Labor then it was under the coalition. So why do you think this is happening?
PATERSON: It's very clearly set out in the budget papers that Jim Chalmers handed down in May last year, and again in the February estimates variation published by the government. In the budget papers last year, it showed border protection funding will decline by $600 million in real terms over the forward estimates. And if you include only the three years included in the February budget estimates update, it's $400 million. That is funding that is going down for our border protection at a time when we're failing to deliver the maritime patrol days that we need to. Failing to deliver the aerial surveillance hours that we need to. And boats are coming back and getting through.
JOURNALIST: When Peter Dutton made that claim. Clare O'Neil said that was an easily disapproved lie and that funding had actually increased by $470 million.
PATERSON: She should take that up with the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, because it very clearly says in the budget papers that he published that funding will decline, over the forward estimates. Funding this year is higher than it will be next year, which is higher than it will be the year after. Funding declines over the forward estimates in the government's own budget papers.
JOURNALIST: Is the government spending more than the Coalition government did?
PATERSON: Well, that's up for them to explain. All that's clear from the budget papers is that funding will decline over the forward estimates.
JOURNALIST: But it's more than the Coalition was spending when they were in government?
PATERSON: Well, the Coalition successfully stopped the boats. We didn't have boats coming through to the Australian mainland. We successfully delivered our maritime patrol days. We successfully delivered our aerial surveillance hours that this government has not done. And we didn't allow boats to get through, they are doing so. So their cuts to the Border Force budget over the next three years is for them to explain.
JOURNALIST: Have you solicited any advice from the Boarder Force about the language that you're using? Because if I remember correctly, last time, there was a concern about some from this language that might encourage people to travel by boat here.
PATERSON: I have repeatedly sought briefings from the government, including Border Force, on these matters. I've written to the Minister for Home Affairs several times to request briefings. That is consistent with past practice when we were in government with the then opposition Shadow Home Affairs Minister Senator Kristina Keneally received several briefings. Not a single one of my briefing requests on Operation Sovereign Borders have been agreed to by the government. I'm very happy to talk to Border Force officials about their implementation of the government's failed border protection policies. But opportunity hasn't been provided to me.
JOURNALIST: If these people are Chinese asylum seekers. Do you imagine that they will be granted asylum, I mean given, criticism including from yourself towards China over the years?
PATERSON: I certainly understand why someone would not want to live under XI Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, but it would depend on their individual circumstances. There are some people who would be of genuine fear of persecution, who couldn't be sent back and shouldn't be sent back, and there would be others who might be migrating, for example, for more economic reasons. Without knowing the individual circumstances of these people, I can't comment on that. All I would say is, it appears they are being moved to Nauru. At Nauru, consistent with our policies which we put in place, their claims will be assessed if they are found to be refugees then they'll be offered third country resettlement options, as they should.
JOURNALIST: Senator, on the Israeli strikes. Are you satisfied with the Israel's explanation so far? The investigation, sacking of two IDF officials, others being reprimanded. Is that enough?
PATERSON: This should not have happened. Aid workers should be able to safely operate, even in difficult circumstances, without being struck by IDF fire. It is a tragic event, and it is right that Israel is investigating. It is right that Israel has taken action against the soldiers who they believe are guilty of this, culpable of these deaths. I note the contrast with Hamas, who also killed an Australian citizen on the 7th of October. I don't think there's been any investigations by Hamas. I don't think anyone's been sacked by Hamas. So we hold Israel to a high standard. We expect higher things from Israel, and I believe that they're doing that in this instance.
JOURNALIST: Do you expect more answers? Do you want more answers?
PATERSON: Well, as I understand it, it's only preliminary investigations that have concluded in Israel. There are other investigations underway, and we look forward to that reporting in due course.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask you about Australian Robert Pether who has now been detained for three years. Saying that he worries he will never get home and feels abandoned by the Australian government. Do you think that the government should be doing more to help him and what that might look like?
PATERSON: I don't know what this government has done to attempt to free Robert Pether from Iraq, but I'm concerned about his welfare. I have read about his case, and that does seem like very difficult circumstances that he's caught up in. He is an Australian citizen. There is concerns for his health. I hope the government is doing everything they can to ensure that he can return home safely to his family.
JOURNALIST: Is there anything more that you can do as a shadow minister?
PATERSON: I've previously written to ministers about this, in fact Peter Kahil and I wrote on a bipartisan basis to ministers raising this case, raising our concerns about this case some time ago. I'm hopeful that the government is doing all what they can to ensure he's freed.
JOURNALIST: On another matter, these reports that Japan could be invited to join Pillar 2 of AUKUS. Is that something that we should welcome?
PATERSON: As far as I'm aware the opposition has not been briefed on this matter, so I don't know the circumstance of it, but I've seen the media speculation that you have. My view is we've got a lot of work to do to nail AUKUS with just the three existing partners. If we're able to also invite extra partners, Japan is a very logical one, very closely allied one, one where there's a lot of common interests and common values. So if you were to invite any member to join AUKUS, they're a natural partner. But we've got an awful lot of work to do among the existing three countries before we can say that we are confident that its mission accomplished.
Thanks everyone.
ENDS
