Turnbull’s comments follow ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barrs’ pledge he’d match Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews‘ offer to “accept full responsibility for all of these children and their families including the provision of housing, health, education and welfare services.”
“It’s a very big issue… managing the security of Australia’s borders is one of the most challenging problems, issues, that the Australian government faces…
… There are no policy options available in terms of border protection that are not tough, which cannot be described as harsh.”
Read: the offer to home all the children born here – many of whom, by the way, have never been in detention – is still a ways off reality.
When questioned by Barrie if “even taking care of a few children would unpick the whole policy,” the PM said “we are dealing with these issues, these very delicate, these anguished issues, with compassion and we’re dealing with them on a case-by-case basis.”
Those comments also bolster the views presented by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton on 7.30 several days ago, while also avoiding any note of whether Andrews’ wholesale offer was under any serious consideration.
You can watch the full exchange below; the discussion regarding asylum seekers kicks in around the 11:30 mark:
.@barriecassidy‘s iv with the PM @TurnbullMalcolm from today’s #Insiders ep @ABCTV @ABCNews24 #auspol https://t.co/gRRjpMaU1O
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) February 6, 2016
Source: ABC / Twitter.
Photo: Twitter.
