Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

Can I thank the minister for the opportunity to ask him questions tonight in this important portfolio area. I do want to ask the minister questions in relation to the Manus Island detention facility. The regional resettlement arrangement which was put in place by the former Labor government and came into effect on 19 July last year had the impact of taking Australia of the table by requiring, for the first time, those persons found to be genuine refugees within the facility to be resettled within Papua New Guinea. What we saw from the moment that that occurred was a significant and game-changing decline in the arrivals of asylum seeker vessels, such that by the time of the election 90 per cent of the flow of asylum seeker vessels had stopped. Those numbers persisted right through until the middle of December before there was any substantive policy put in place by the current government in relation to the issues around our borders. So the significance of the regional resettlement arrangement, at the heart of which is Manus Island detention facility, is absolute. I assume that that is a proposition which is accepted by the minister and by the government by virtue of the fact that both the minister and the government have maintained the regional resettlement arrangement as part of the government's suite of policies in dealing with the flow of asylum seeker vessels. It is unquestionably, statistically at the heart of what has produced a major reduction in flow of asylum seeker vessels. What is critical about that, of course, is that as a consequence of that we have seen a reduction to the point, we hope, that we have seen the end of the loss of life at sea, which was a circumstance which needed to be brought about.

But in saying all of that there are a number of issues which have arisen under this minister's watch and under this government in relation to the Manus Island detention facility. On a number of occasions now the facility has quite literally melted down. Of course we have the events of 16-18 February this year where we saw the very tragic death of Mr Reza Berati along with the serious injury of many others. In the aftermath of that we called upon the government to undertake an independent inquiry into the events of those few days and also the circumstances within the facility leading up to those events which gave rise to them. To the government's credit they conducted that review and we have seen the outcome of that in the Cornell report. On page 8 and 9 of the Cornell report, which is, if you like, the executive summary, there is a description of the key contributing factors. I am quoting:

Frustration in the delay of the processing of their refugee status determinations and lack of information about the likely timing for the completion of these determinations. Further anger and frustration resulting in the consequent uncertainty about their future including and, in particular, how long they will be kept at the Manus centre and frustration arising from the lack of information about what resettlement in PNG would mean for them and their families.

My first question to the minister is whether or not he accepts those findings of the Cornell report as being central causes which gave rise to the events on 16-18 February? On 15 January this year the minister in a press conference said:

… the processing has recommenced on both Nauru and on Manus Island and Australian officials were assisting with training and providing support for that assessment process. That is underway and has been happening now for around about three or four weeks.

And yet in an article just a few days ago by Michael Gordon this seems to be contested, and I am quoting now from the Sydney Morning Herald:

During an hour-long briefing of senior staff, the then acting regional manager of security provider G4s, John McCaffery, said he had been told that no refugee-status determinations would take place "for the foreseeable future" because of lack of funds.

I am interested in whether the minister can clarify if in fact he was wrong when he made the statement that he did on 15 January.

And, finally, I would like to know from the minister when it was that he first had a substantive meeting with his counterpart in PNG about the question of resettlement and processing of people from Manus Island? (Time expired)

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