From talking to people around our country my sense is that confidence is returning.
This year, the Government will continue the good work that we began in 2013 – and we’ll do that by implementing our plan to build a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia.
We are honouring our commitments; indeed that will be the theme of this Government this year, honouring our commitments to scrap the carbon tax, to end the waste, to get the Budget under control and to build the infrastructure of the 21st century. We’ve also made big progress in border protection.
Not a single illegal boat has arrived since mid-December.
January was the first full month since early 2009 that has gone without the arrival of a single illegal boat.
The people smugglers are finally getting the message that this country is under new management.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround in only a few months – our policies are working and progress is being made.
It wasn’t so long ago that, on average, there was one illegal boat every single day.
So to have no boats for six weeks is a clear sign that policies are working and progress is being made.
We now need the Labor Party and Mr Shorten to admit they got it wrong and to promise Australians that they would never go back to the bad policies that resulted in 55,000 illegal arrivals and $11 billion in Budget blowouts.
But while we have made progress – and we are confident that these policies are working – there is more to be done.
This progress in stopping the boats is just one of the reasons why I am optimistic about the year ahead. It’s just one of many areas where the policies of the new Government are making a difference.
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