Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to ask the minister some questions about the regional cooperation framework. But in particular I would like to commend the minister for pursuing a regional cooperation framework, along with the Prime Minister. As we know, and unlike what the opposition would perhaps have us believe, irregular migration and asylum seekers moving around the region is not just an issue for Australia. It is an issue across the countries in our region, and that is why it is so important that we work with other countries, not just in our own little bubble. We must work together because—and I think the minister has said this many times, as has the Prime Minister—we do not want people getting on boats, risking their lives, to end up with tragedies such as the one on Christmas Island. That is why the Prime Minister and minister have undertaken some very proactive arrangements that were not even thought of by the previous government.

Mr Briggs interjecting—

Mr Morrison interjecting—

Quite frankly, the previous government did not break the people-smuggling model. With their smoke and mirrors, they would like us to think that, but we know that there was not international engagement or engagement with countries in our region. This is a very important step that I commend the minister for.

In the 2011-12 budget, there were a number of initiatives to improve regional cooperation and capacity building as well as support the government's announcement of the arrangement with Malaysia, which is very innovative. It is an arrangement that the UNHCR is looking to work with us on. It is very cooperative and engaged in this process, which is something that cannot be said about the coalition's plans for Nauru. In fact, the UNHCR indicated that they believed that that was a very poor choice.

This is a very important agreement, so my question to the minister is: can the minister outline to the Main Committee how the regional cooperation framework first gained credibility in the region, what role did the Bali process play in formulating the regional cooperation framework and what relationship does that regional cooperation framework and the Bali process have to (a) the transfer agreement and (b) the regional assessment centres?

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