Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is what happened. People who have made speeches today on this issue sat with the Greens to knock off that people swap because Malaysia was not a signatory to the UN convention on looking after asylum seekers. They sat with the Greens on that policy. Then it comes out today—

Honourable members interjecting—

Well, my understanding from the media is that we have had unaccompanied minors sent to Nauru, when the minister is actually the guardian of those minors. It is a difficult job, I would imagine, to be the minister making that decision. How can you look after the best interests of those children by sending them to Manus Island or to Nauru or, if it does come about, into an Indonesian program? That has been reported in the media. The reality is that we have had 225 years of people coming across the seas to this country, and there has been an irrational fear of other people coming from across the seas ever since that started. (Time expired)

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