Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to voice my support for the Anti-People Smuggling and Other Measures Bill 2010. Last week we were privileged to hear in this place from the Indonesian President, Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It was a historic address, a momentous address, and the first by an Indonesian President to the Australian parliament. Personally, I think it was a watershed moment in our history and I am proud to have been an attendant lord that swelled the progress and the start of a new scene. It says something about the invigorated friendship and spirit of cooperation between Australia and our northern neighbour. In his considered and insightful address in the chamber, President Yudhoyono acknowledged once again that people smuggling is a regional problem requiring regional solutions. President Yudhoyono also committed to introduce a law into the Indonesian parliament to criminalise people smuggling, with a maximum penalty of five years jail. As I have a connection to an Australian who, sadly, in 32 days time will have notched up five years in an Indonesian prison, I know this will be a very strong prevention measure.

Both of our countries continue to work together as a new tide of asylum seekers seek to find a safe place somewhere on the globe, a haven from the hell. Up to 260,000 people—more than all the people in the Northern Territory—have been displaced as a result of the civil war in Sri Lanka, and around 2,000 have found themselves in the vicinity of Australian waters. This is a fact that is forgotten by those opposite, or deliberately neglected. Most of the asylum seekers head north into India or Malaysia or onwards into Europe, but the reality is that some come to Australia—not because they are flicking through the internet looking for the government’s immigration policies. That is ludicrous, a specious argument if ever I heard one. It is a ridiculous bit of political manoeuvring from those opposite that ill becomes those people who say that they have an intellect. That is the reality: up to 260,000 people have been displaced. Why? Because of a long-running civil war in Sri Lanka.

Under the terms of the Lombok treaty, Australia is also involved in a region-wide process to combat people smuggling. The Rudd government takes the scourge of people smuggling very seriously. We have committed more than $654 million to combat people smuggling. People smugglers are obviously in it for a quick buck. They do not care about the health, wellbeing, safety or aspirations of their human cargo. They see an opportunity. They put desperate people at extreme risk of injury or loss of life just to make some dollars.

On the figures available to me, I am aware of 23 convictions of people-smuggling offenders in Australia since September 2008, and 63 people charged with these offences are currently being prosecuted. These people face tough penalties. The maximum penalty for people-smuggling offences is 20 years imprisonment and/or a $220,000 fine. This bill will further strengthen the Commonwealth’s arsenal against people smugglers. It establishes a new offence of providing material support and resources to a people-smuggling venture. The offence will apply to any person who provides support or resources to aid the offence of people smuggling. However, it will not apply to a person who pays smugglers to facilitate their own or another’s passage or entry to Australia. The offence will carry a maximum jail term of 10 years and/or a $110,000 fine. These tough penalties send a strong signal to those wanting to exploit the desperate and vulnerable through people smuggling, and especially those people in Australia.

To ensure people-smuggling offences can be enforced across the board, this bill will also harmonise offences between the Migration Act and the Criminal Code. It inserts into the Migration Act the aggravated offence of people smuggling involving exploitation or danger of death or serious harm. Including this offence in both the Migration Act and the Criminal Code will ensure that it applies to all people-smuggling ventures. This bill also standardises the language and description of offences used in the two acts to ensure greater consistency and to therefore remove any chances of ambiguity.

I know, you know, those opposite know and all Australians know that we need a tough criminal framework to enforce our people-smuggling laws. These amendments demonstrate that the Rudd government is serious about stopping people smugglers. But this bill also beefs up the minimum penalties for the aggravated offences of people smuggling. The minimum penalties are currently a five-year sentence with three years non-parole or an eight-year sentence with five years non-parole for repeat offenders. The higher mandatory minimum sentence of eight years with five years non-parole will automatically apply regardless of whether it was a repeat offence.

Finally, this bill gives our law enforcement and national security agencies a greater role in protecting our borders and apprehending people smugglers. In doing so, it amends the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 and the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to give law enforcement agencies consistent access to investigative tools under both acts. It also amends the ASIO Act to enable ASIO to respond to people smuggling and address serious threats to Australia’s borders.

The new wave of displaced people seeking asylum as a result of the conflicts in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan has placed renewed pressure on Australia’s borders. It has certainly been interesting to experience question time and see the tactics of those opposite, particularly as they talk time and time again about the boats that are arriving. Let us remember that most people who end up in Australia without a proper visa arrive on aeroplanes. Boats, for some reason in the Australian psyche for the last 200 years, seem to be something that people are fearful of. But the reality is we should be more fearful of a 747 than a rickety boat from Indonesia in which some poor fisher is trying to make a couple of extra dollars. Obviously we are targeting people smugglers, and that is appropriate, but we need to do it in a balanced way. Australia has secure borders, and the number of boats that have come has always been linked to what is going on around the world. Those opposite trot out the specious argument that somehow the ebb and flow of people connected with civil war is actually connected to the immigration policies of whichever government is in power in Australia. It is almost lunacy to suggest such a thing. But still those opposite blow that dog whistle hard, and unfortunately there are still people in Australia who listen to it.

I am not old enough to remember World War II. My mum remembers it. I recently watched the movie Australia, which showed the bombing of Darwin. In that movie, they did what any family would do: when your children are in danger, or when war comes to town, you flee. That is what you do. That is a human reaction to war. You try and get out of harm’s way and protect your children. That is what they did in Darwin in 1942. That is what they did in Sri Lanka. That is what they do in Afghanistan. That is what they did in London during the Blitz. You take your children out of harm’s way. Obviously, there are people who will try and exploit that human instinct to protect our children. That is the context we need to remember. I would do the same if war came to Brisbane. I would do whatever it takes to protect our children’s lives.

So we should really be talking about planes, not boats, because that is how most of the people who arrive in Australia without the correct visas get here. The opposition keep talking about boats because they somehow think it is going to attract votes. But it does not show a noble spirit, I would suggest. The Rudd government is not interested in making this a political fight, but we are serious about bringing down the real enemy in this situation, the people smugglers, who exploit people who have experienced war and civil unrest. This bill gives government agencies greater capacity to investigate and disrupt people-smuggling networks and it ensures that Australia’s intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies and the courts can continue to work together to protect our borders. In closing, I ask those opposite to consider this when they blow the dog whistle about the boats on the horizon. I commend the bill to the House.

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