When questioned why he had refused to accept New Zealand’s offer to resettle 150 refugees from the offshore detention centre on Manus Island and Nauru, Mr Turnbull told the audience that if people from Manus came to Australia, people smugglers would start up sailing again.
He claimed rejecting the deal would keep Australians safe and the country’s borders secure.
“I don't want people to drown again at sea on people smugglers' boats,” he said. “So what we have is one of the most generous humanitarian programs in the world. We take nearly 20,000 refugees a year.
“But we choose them. We decide which refugees come to Australia. I am not going to do what Labor did and abandon the security of our borders, see thousands of people drowning at sea, outsource the protection of our country to criminal gangs.
“We are a generous, compassionate nation but the refugees that come here are chosen by Australia, not by people smugglers.”
He claimed that people smugglers would take advantage of any deal bringing refugees to Australia.
“You know as well as I do that the people smugglers will be there on Twitter, they'll be there on Facebook, marketing,” he added.
“They'll be saying, ‘The door is open again. The Australians have lost their nerve. They've lost their will to defend their borders. Hop on the boats.’ They'll be taking money off people, going to sea in boats, and many of [the refugees] will drown.”
