I got an e-mail last night - it's a worry!

Geoff,

The latest two illegal boats to have arrived in Australia, brings the total number of illegal arrivals to more than 30,000 people under the Rudd/Gillard government.

This is more illegal arrivals than the entire populations of centres like Warrnambool (29,286), the Blue Mountains (29,770), Albany (26,644). Mount Gambier (25,200), Alice Springs (24,210) Devonport (22,770) or Mount Isa (20,569).

More than half of these illegal arrivals have occurred during this year alone and Labor’s failure on our borders is worsening by the month, with an average of 2,000 now turning up every month.

The 30,000 people that have arrived illegally by boat under Labor compares to less than 300 during the last six years of the Howard government. That’s more than a one hundred fold increase.

It is clear that Labor doesn’t have a plan to stop the boats, just like they don’t have a plan to grow the economy.

It’s hard to have confidence in a government when it doesn’t keep the borders safe and secure. Labor just can’t stop the boats.

The Coalition has a plan to make our borders safe and secure again.   We will:
Give the Navy instructions to turn the boats around where safe to do so.  Just like they did under the Howard Government;
We will re-introduce Temporary Protection Visas and deprive the people smugglers of their business model, by denying them a product to sell – permanent visas with family reunion;
Work more effectively with Indonesia to stop people coming into our region, by having a foreign policy that is more focussed on Jakarta than Geneva, with Tony Abbott visiting Indonesia within a week of an election;
Support Sri Lanka to stop people leaving their shores and returning those coming on boats from Sri Lanka before they reach our waters; and
We will abandon Labor’s half-hearted approach to border security and restore the proven resolve of the Howard Government.
After more than 30,000 illegal arrivals, Australians want safe and secure borders again.

The Coalition will restore the successful border security policies and proven resolve of the Howard Government.

Policies and resolve that stopped the boats.

Regards,

Scott Morrison MP
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship