Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Notwithstanding the matter of public importance submitted for discussion by the opposition, there is no question of silencing anybody in this debate. On our side there has been extensive debate in the party room, the Senate has reviewed the legislation, the policy has been in the public arena for many weeks now and debate has ensued. The matter will be debated in this House, with some restriction on the time available for parliamentary debate, but it will be properly debated.

The only reason that any time restriction is required is the endless filibustering on various bills by the opposition where they have nothing to say or nothing new to say. It is a cheap tactic designed to disrupt the House. On some bills we see speaker after speaker—and we have seen it in recent days and recent weeks—stand and basically repeat the speech of their colleague before them. It is simply a tactic to force the government to seek a limit on the time for debate on critical bills so that this opposition can then grandstand and seek to make cheap political points, as they have done today. Labor creates the problem and then complains bitterly about the solution.

You would think from all the feigned anger and the long faces that they were genuinely concerned. But of course the Labor Party are very familiar with restricting the time for debate. The Labor Party are world champions at restricting the time for debate. The Labor Party come to this accusation with form, with unclean hands. Between 1990 and 1996, when members opposite were in charge, the guillotine was used on no fewer than 437 occasions in just six years. Those opposite were ruthless with the guillotine. Let me quote some of the reasons that the now Leader of the Opposition gave back on 8 May 1991. He said:

... I agree that we have had to operate a guillotine very heavily.

…     …         …

We find that the use of the guillotine in fact gives members of parliament certainty as to when matters will be debated and commonsense as to when they get to bed at night. ... We do not legislate by exhaustion; we legislate by expedition.

This is the now Leader of the Opposition back when he had charge of the House. Compare the record of 437 guillotines in six years with the record of this government. Since 1996, in 10 years, there have been just 42 occasions when this government has resorted to the guillotine. So the hypocrisy of the Labor Party on the question of restricting debate is palpable. There has been substantial debate and this House will have an opportunity for proper debate of the migration amendment bill.

The opposition is seeking to quite wrongly claim that Australia is placing Indonesia’s sovereignty ahead of Australia’s sovereignty with its changed immigration policies. The legislation in fact is all about further enhancing the border protection policies of the Howard government. And in doing so, as my colleague the Attorney-General said before me, we are asserting our sovereignty with the legislation that is coming before the House.

The offshore processing arrangements introduced in October 2001 and supported by those opposite have been an outstanding success. They have ensured the integrity of Australia’s borders and preserved Australia’s strong commitment to refugee protection. Two very important objectives have been achieved with those offshore processing arrangements. Under those arrangements, unauthorised arrivals at certain offshore parts of Australia identified as excised offshore places are prevented from making valid applications for visas, including protection visas, in Australia, unless the minister considers such an application to be in the public interest. This was legislation roundly supported by those opposite. Such persons may be removed to a declared country such as Nauru, outside Australia, for the processing of any claims that they are owed refugee protection under the refugees convention as amended by the refugees protocol.

These arrangements have proven their worth. Since the introduction of this legislation in 2001, enthusiastically supported by those opposite, there have been 1,547 people processed offshore under these arrangements. All had access to reliable refugee assessment processes, undertaken either by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or by trained Australian officers. Not one person found to be a refugee in the offshore processes has been forced to return to their homeland. This record has demonstrated that the government has delivered on its obligations under the refugees convention to all of the people processed under those arrangements. However, it is important today, as it was in 2001, that Australia continually review its policy and legislation in this critical area. We must ensure that proper arrangements are in place to deal with new developments as they occur. Border protection requires continued vigilance. Those opposite understand this, or should—they had these responsibilities during their time in office. There should be some redefining of persons to whom the offshore processing arrangements apply in the view of the government. The government has formed this view.

This legislation is a response to the fact, as my colleague identified earlier in this debate, that some Indonesians from West Papua have had an intention to use our migration laws for political purposes to create a staging ground for an independence movement, for a separatist movement. Australia cannot find itself in a situation where our migration laws are manipulated and used to influence internal political factors in other countries. We cannot stand by and see our border protection compromised and used for other purposes. We are asserting, in this sense, our sovereignty. We have every right as a country to protect our borders, an issue Labor is reluctant to face on this occasion. Our migration laws are strong because we have established programs to direct who comes into our country and when they do so. We are in a position, and we must maintain in asserting our sovereignty, to ensure that our migration laws are not manipulated or used and abused by others with other agendas. Yet in doing so we are criticised for having a conversation with our Indonesian neighbours. Again, we face hypocrisy from those on the other side.

Let me remind you, Mr Deputy Speaker, what the Leader of the Opposition said in that debate in September 2001 when we as a government, with the support of the opposition, excised certain areas and islands off our coast. The Leader of the Opposition said:

It is incumbent upon Australian governments to assign top priority in Australia’s international relationships to the region around us and, even when we have a difficulty, not to run away from it. We should take the opportunities that are presented to us for a constant conversation and, when we are handling a problem associated with the immigration laws of this country in which they are engaged, we should conduct the diplomacy on a basis of mutual respect, care and caution and we should not brace them with a megaphone. One of the most shameful things in this whole exercise has been the fact that the original cause of all this border protection legislation lay in the fact that the Prime Minister and the government could not engage in such a good conversation with our nearest neighbour—

a la Indonesia. The hypocrisy again is presenting itself. There has been and will be a proper debate on this matter, but it has not been assisted by the mindless tactics of those opposite. This bill will further assert Australia’s sovereignty by strengthening Australia’s border protection measures.

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