Malcolm Turnbull
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop listens to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announce his new federal cabinet during a media conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, September 20, 2015. Australia got its fifth prime minister in as many years on Monday after the ruling Liberal Party voted to replace Abbott with former investment banker Malcolm Turnbull, following months of infighting and crumbling voter support. Reuters/David Gray

A day after doctors at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s hospital appealed to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to stop putting children in detention centres, Turnbull responded by saying that it is an effective way to stop deaths in the sea.

Turnbull stated on Monday in a parliament meeting, which can be seen in a YouTube video posted by The Australian Greens, that people requiring medical assistance receive what is due them, whether in Nauru or in Australia. He also noted hat the practice has been done for a long period of time.

The issue of children being locked in immigration detention was brought up by doctors, Labour, the Greens and Liberal MPs for the government to take action. The Greens announced plans to introduce a bill that will bar the government from putting children into detention, as they dub such facilities “mental illness factories.”

Turnbull also compared the status of the current immigration policies with that of the Labour government. The number of children in detention centres reached nearly 2,000 under the former Labour government, but under the Coalition, it has dropped to about 200 in both Australian and Nauruan centres. The prime minister also added that they are working hard to achieve the goal of reducing the number of children in detention centres.

Russell Broadbent, Liberal MP, meanwhile, said that the situation was unacceptable and that the government’s actions must shift in response to public opinion after the people, through the doctors of Melbourne Children’s Hospital, spoke against the border protection policy.

However, despite Turnbull believing in the positive effects of the tough policy, he clarified that “nobody wants to have children in detention, not me, not any member of this house, not any one, not any Australian.”

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