Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Can I say to the shadow minister, the objective of the government, and I hope it is shared as an objective of this parliament, is absolutely clear. It has been clear over a long period of time now, clear over many long months. That objective has been that we should take the most effective action possible to deter people from getting on leaky boats and from potentially risking their lives. We should take the most effective action possible to deter people from putting themselves in the hands of people smugglers who are seeking to profit from their misery. Our objective has been over many long months—apart from sending the most effective message of deterrence—that in designing a policy we should make sure that we are doing our best to protect Australia's borders but that, at the same time, we are doing our best to protect the values that Australians hold dear. And so at every stage the government has worked for effective deterrence and border protection coupled with honouring our obligations under the refugee convention. So when we entered into discussions with Malaysia, because we were advised and properly saw this as the most effective deterrence measure, we did it on the basis that our nation would always honour our obligations under the refugee convention. At its heart, the refugee convention is about not returning people to places where they would be persecuted, and the arrangement with Malaysia ensures that.

It is also about making sure that people can have their claims processed, and the arrangement with Malaysia ensures that. It also goes through and ensures that people will have identification papers, that they would not be subject to the sanctions on illegal migrants, that they would have access to education and the ability to seek work. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has indicated that they are prepared to work on the implementation of this arrangement. That is because we have worked on this arrangement as a part of a regional solution, firstly, going to the big regional meeting in Bali to work on a regional framework, and that was agreed. Then this is the bilateral arrangement under the auspices of that framework.

At the same time, in honouring our refugee conventions in this arrangement, we have ensured that we would extend our compassion to 4,000 more genuine refugees, people who are in Malaysia and have been there for years. I was asked about the government's objective.

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