Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I think we have lurched to the right again on that question. I think I might have picked up the subtle subtheme as I heard those opposite and observed some of those opposite burying their heads as that question was asked. The honourable member’s question goes to the assumption concerning the processing outcomes of individual asylum seekers. Therefore I say to the honourable member that, when it comes to the processing of this group of individuals on this particular vessel, some will be determined to be of refugee status, depending on where they have got up to in the overall process, and some will be determined not to be, depending on what evidence presents itself. Those who are not determined to be refugees will be sent back to their country of origin and those who are determined to be refugees will be subject to the resettlement processes which apply across the 16 to 21 resettlement countries. That is the first point.

The second point goes to what provisions apply in terms of any asylum seeker who is granted asylum in Australia. I draw the honourable member’s attention to the following: under the Howard government in 2007 more than 33,000 people who had held a refugee and humanitarian visa received income support payments. That was in 2007. Secondly, more than 2,200 baby bonus payments were made to those holding refugee and humanitarian visas. I just draw that to the honourable member’s attention as well. Furthermore, under the Howard government, asylum seekers holding TPVs—that great and successful instrument of public policy—were able to access a special benefit paid at the same rate and with exactly the same means and eligibility test as the following: unemployment benefits, family tax benefit, the baby bonus, childcare benefit, the maternity immunisation allowance, double orphan pension and rent assistance. In 2002 there were nearly 5,000 temporary protection visa holders in Australia receiving income support payments. Furthermore, temporary protection visa holders were provided with all other normal provisions which applied under Australian law at the time. Under this government, refugees are provided the same range of services as has generally been applied in the past. When the honourable member asks a question of this nature, I suggest that she should reflect carefully on the arrangements, which I thought had prevailed on a bipartisan basis in this country for some time, rather than engage in the politics in which she is engaging.

I also draw this to the honourable member’s attention. Here we are on this sitting day, one week before the end of the parliamentary sitting, and it is now some 30 days since we have had a question on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. It is 97 days since we had a question on jobs. It is 29 days since we had any question on the economy, 22 days since we had a question on infrastructure, 22 days since we had any question on education, 23 days since we have any question on nation building. That is a lot of days, and I always think it is great that those opposite are keenly concerned about the interests of Australian working families.

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