Senator BERNARDI (South Australia) (16:41): I commence my contribution to this debate by saying how I wholeheartedly support Minister Scott Morrison in his dogged pursuit and determination to stop the people smugglers. He is ably assisted by our Senator Cash, the assistant minister in that capacity. I find it rather extraordinary that when even the Labor Party acknowledges that the government is focused on getting to the bottom of exactly what happened in the incident on Manus Island that led to the death of asylum seeker Reza Barati, the Greens somehow want to make political mileage out of it. The Labor Party have acknowledged that the government is taking appropriate steps to establish exactly what has happened. I do not particularly like the slant that Senator Carr put on it in his selective quotation of what the minister said in successive press conferences. Most of the comments that he made were about the advice that he received. He was constantly and continually updating members of the public and the press gallery as new advice came to hand. So it is a little disingenuous. But I cannot stand here and let go some of the most grotesque slurs to have been cast upon a previous government, the comments by Senator Milne. To merely suggest that any government of this country would stand by or have their navy float by and watch people drown, as Senator Milne alleged in her grossly defamatory and I think hypocritical address, is an appalling assessment of the judgement of the Greens party. It is an unbelievable slur upon any government to suggest, as Senator Milne has done, that we would stand by and watch people drown for some sort of political expediency. That might be the standards by which you judge your own contribution, Senator Milne, but it is not the standard of contributions from those on this side of the chamber. The appalling hypocrisy of those in the Greens party is begat from their absolute jealousy and their outrage that policies are actually working, demonstrating that their ideas are simply as kooky as they have always been. Senator Milne asked: 'What has this government done to stop the boats coming?' I could point to the track record that the boats are no longer arriving on Australian shores or in Australian waters, that we have not had an illegal boat arrival on Australian shores for countless days. I cannot believe that Senator Milne thinks that somehow that is a bad outcome. There is further evidence which I read recently about how the price of a ticket for passage on a people-smuggling vessel has plummeted from $10,000 to $1,000 because the demand is drying up. But that would smell like success. They are unfamiliar with success in the Greens and they are jealous of it. They do not like our success because it exposes just how hollow their whole agenda is. We have had no arrivals. We have had no drownings at sea. We have not seen 1,100 people drown, as happened under the policies of the previous government and their alliance with the Greens. We have not heard the dismissive, 'Accidents happen,' and 'Tragedies happen,' from the spokesperson for the Greens. We have not seen anything except for the fact that the policies implemented by this government are working. Do you know how the Greens characterise it? They characterise it as some sort of reality TV show. It is like it is a soap opera to the Greens' spokesman. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young thought it was like an episode of Border Security or Sea Patrol. That is extraordinary. This is the national parliament. We are debating the sovereignty of Australia's borders and the right of people to come to this— Senator Hanson-Young: Mr Deputy President, I rise on a point of order. I would like Senator Bernardi to correct the record seeing as the Hansard for Senate estimates does not prove that at all. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: That is not a point of order. That is a debating point. Senator BERNARDI: YouTube will testify—I should send it to you, actually, Mr Deputy President—how Senator Hanson-Young thought that our border protection officers were part of Sea Patrol, that fictitious drama series. Senator Hanson-Young: Mr Deputy President, I rise on a point of order. Senator Bernardi is misleading the Senate. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: That is not a point of order. That is a debating point. Senator Seselja: Mr Deputy President, I rise on a point of order. Not only is that not a point of order; the senator should actually withdraw. She cannot make that claim. There are formal procedures for making such claims. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I have ruled on the point of order. There was no point of order. Senator BERNARDI: What we have is the Greens' spokesman on this matter cavalierly dismissing— Senator Hanson-Young: Mr Deputy President, I rise on a point of order: I am not a man. Senator BERNARDI: I think she is withdrawing, Mr Deputy President. I think she is going to withdraw her spurious allegations. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Order! I indicate to Senator Hanson-Young and other senators that spurious points of order will not be tolerated. Points of order are to be utilised for important purposes. Senator BERNARDI: What we have all of a sudden is the arrogance and outrage of Senator Hanson-Young because not only has her policy position been exposed as the folly that it is; there is also the not-so-small matter that our policy is working. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is upset because everything that she has built her political career around—faux crocodile tears, the Sea Patrol issues, the dismissal of people drowning at sea and the grotesque accusation from Senator Milne, which was that we stood by and were prepared to watch people drown—has been false. It has been built on a house of cards, on the lie that somehow if we had a more compassionate policy it would stop the boats. That is not true. Our policy is compassionate. It is compassionate because it stops the boats. It takes away the people smugglers' product. It puts back into the Australian government's hands the determination of who should participate in our generous humanitarian refugee program. It puts the people smugglers out of business. If the Australian people are serious about a humanitarian immigration program then they will salute the fact that we have regained control of it. They can see firsthand the dangers of extremists who have really no ideas grounded in reality and the implications of the kooky policies of the Greens, who have made some truly vile suggestions today. In conclusion, we as a collective in this Senate should be appalled at the death of any individual who is seeking asylum in this country. We should be appalled, and there is no question about it. It is hard. It is very tough on the minister. I know he takes it to heart, as do we all. The simple fact is that it is better to have an orderly immigration program than one in which hundreds, maybe thousands, of people could perish at sea. This is the great tragedy of it. We are doing our best. The Australian people have asked us to go in and fix up the mess that was created by the policy agenda of the previous government, together with the Greens. It is time that we took stock of that. That is why I appreciate the Labor Party saying that the government have taken appropriate steps to inquire into this. I would ask the Greens to reflect on their politicising of a tragic event. (Time expired)