Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

It is appropriate we go through the reasons for the opposition's approach. They say that processing should now only occur in countries that are signatories to the refugee convention. That is the opposition's position. They say that that has been a consistent position for 10 years. The Leader of the Opposition said, 'Our position has been consistent for 10 years.' Nauru wasn't a refugee convention signatory when they sent people to Nauru, but last year the Leader of the Opposition said:

Look, this business of requiring that they sign the Convention is simply a furphy …

The shadow minister has made similar statements—that it was not necessary for offshore processing to occur in signatory countries. It is very eloquent from the Leader of the Opposition when he says:

Look, this business of requiring that they sign the Convention is simply a furphy—

because it is a furphy. It is completely inconsistent, not just with previous positions.

Yes, the government has considered the position and in recent times has said, 'We should work in a regional framework with countries that are not signatories to the refugee convention and work with them to improve protection outcomes.' Yes, we have developed that position. Yes, governments and political parties do change policy. I do not necessarily hold the Leader of the Opposition to his position where he says it is a furphy. I respect that political parties are entitled to develop their thinking. But what they are not entitled to do is hold a completely inconsistent position at the same time. We all know the opposition's policy is to turn boats around on the high seas and point them in the direction of Indonesia. Guess what? I thought I might have missed something but I checked again today and Indonesia is not a signatory to the refugee convention. It is one thing to change position—all political parties do that from time to time—and it is another thing to have two completely inconsistent positions at the same time.

I saw the member for Flinders announcing on Insiders on Sunday that the Liberal Party was going to negotiate with Indonesia and that it would build in protections. Good luck with that one! I wonder how that is going to go. I do not know if it is going to negotiate that Indonesia sign the refugee convention—even better luck with that one. Apparently, it is not appropriate to send a plane to Malaysia when you have negotiated protections and when you have commitments from the Malaysian government not to refoule people, when you have commitments from the Malaysian government to allow access to education and health and when you have commitments from the Malaysian government to allow work rights. It is not okay to send a plane to Malaysia, but it is okay to send a boat to Indonesia with no protections negotiated whatsoever. But the member for Flinders is on the job, and he is going to negotiate these protections, apparently.

The Leader of the Opposition has the hide to call the Malaysian arrangement 'offshore dumping'. It is offshore dumping to send people on a boat to Indonesia, drop them off at the jetty and say, 'There you go.' That is offshore dumping, and that underlines the hypocrisy of the opposition.

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