Debate resumed, on motion by Mr Robert:

That this House:

(1)

notes that:

(a)

Defence Housing Australia (DHA) is the professional manager of Defence houses;

(b)

the Department of Defence still retains over 1650 homes that have not been handed over to DHA; and

(c)

the Government is using some of these 1650 homes, notably over 50 at Inverbrackie, as a detention facility to house Irregular Maritime Arrivals (IMA), rather than Defence families; and

(2)

calls on the Government to:

(a)

cease using Defence housing as an immigration detention facility;

(b)

hand over all houses managed by the Department of Defence to DHA; and

(c)

categorically state that it will not acquire the homes of Defence families for the purpose of housing the ever increasing number of IMA arriving in Australia as a result of the Government’s soft border protection policies.

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