Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move :

That this House:

(1) condemns the Gillard Government's deal with Malaysia that would see 800 asylum seekers intercepted in Australian waters and sent to Malaysia; and

(2) calls on the Government to immediately abandon this proposal.

The government's deal to expel asylum seekers from Australia to Malaysia is wrong and should be condemned by this parliament. The deal, like the now-defunct East Timor plan, is a rushed political fix designed to paper over the failure of the government and the opposition's mandatory detention policy. The deal will mean asylum seekers are expelled to Malaysia. The deal violates Australia's international obligations and is an abuse of human rights. That is why today I am moving a motion that is also being moved and supported in the Senate. The motion reads that this House: 'condemns the Gillard Government's deal with Malaysia that would see 800 asylum seekers intercepted in Australian waters and sent to Malaysia; and … calls on the Government to immediately abandon this proposal.'

I understand the significance of moving this motion, and I have not taken the decision to do so lightly. If passed, this motion will mean that for the first time in the life of this parliament both houses of parliament will have condemned a government policy. The government will need to take this matter very seriously because it will have received a very clear message from parliament rejecting the Malaysia deal and a very strong request that the deal be abandoned.

We all know why we are at this low point in this country's treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. For more than a decade we have had a political race to the bottom between the old parties, as they have chased votes that they think exist in certain marginal seats around the country. On the one side you have the coalition, the party of razor wire and children overboard, peddling fear and stoking resentment in the community; and on the other you have Labor, the party of mandatory detention, promising a new direction at the election but then again giving into fear and refusing to lead public opinion on this issue. It is almost like the old parties are locked in an arms race on refugees, competing to be tough and lacking in compassion. So now, instead of winding back mandatory detention, we have a government expanding offshore detention and now adopting the Howard government policy, so roundly condemned, of expelling asylum seekers to another country—a country that has not signed the convention on refugees, a country that has a history of caning asylum seekers and engaging in other abuses of human rights and a country that has not yet guaranteed any protections of the people which our government intends to expel there. Why do we sign up to international conventions if we are not going to abide by them? Why do we seek to contract out our obligations? We cannot send fairness offshore. It is for this reason that this deal has been widely condemned, including by the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights when she visited Australia last week.

The government will say that this deal is good because, in return for accepting those expelled, Malaysia will send others to Australia. Let me be clear that the Greens' position is that our humanitarian refugee intake should be significantly expanded. But an expansion of our refugee intake should not be bought at the violation of the rights of others or by swapping one person for another. Refugees and asylum seekers are human beings, not a card in a political game. It is a reflection of how low the political debate in this country has sunk that there is willingness in some quarters to accept this as a legitimate approach to immigration policy.

I was elected by the people of Melbourne in part to bring a value of compassion and represent it in this parliament. My electorate of Melbourne thrives in part because of the decades of migrants and refugees who have chosen to settle there. The people of Melbourne do not give in to the fear and hysteria promoted by the old parties. They value diversity and the multicultural community in which they live. They know that there is an alternative. We can do what happens in most parts of the world—that is, allowing people, regardless of how they come to this country, to seek asylum. Detention is a last resort, and even then should only be for the minimum possible period—a period of days, for health and security checks. The people of Melbourne also know that at a time when the country is facing a skills shortage and a mandatory detention bill of over $1 billion there are good economic reasons for a policy of fairness.

I say to the members in this place that I know moving a motion condemning the Malaysian deal is very confronting for the government and the passage of this motion will be a significant event in the life of this parliament. But there are times when, regardless of the implications, enough is enough. The Malaysia deal is wrong. It violates human rights and Australia's international obligations. It should be scrapped and I urge all members to add their voice to this call.

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