Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for bringing this most important motion forward today. Let me start by saying the blame game must end and end now. What is happening on Manus Island, as I speak, is completely inhumane, unacceptable and will forever be a stain on Australia's human rights history. Demonising and dehumanising traumatised people is not the Australian way. Surely we are better than this.

The only plan that the Turnbull government has is to close Manus Island on 31 October 2017. They have no plan for the 773 people on Manus Island seeking asylum, who will be left in limbo, and that is what this motion is about. They have used these people seeking asylum as a deterrent to put the fear of God into others fleeing from trauma and war. They have done very little about their safety. They have no regard for their physical and emotional wellbeing and health. What is most distressing is that nothing has been done about finding a third country resettlement deal. Where does this government expect 773 people seeking asylum to go?

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 12:24 to 12:37

Where is the evidence that this government has been exploring third-party options? Where is the action to engage with the third parties? Where is the Turnbull government on these human rights issues? This is a huge human rights problem, and the Turnbull government has no answers. People seeking asylum are not illegals; they are people. They are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers. It is intolerable that, in 2017, people are being left with no access to water and power, yet this is exactly what is happening.

Whether this government likes it or not, the people seeking asylum on Manus are the responsibility of the Australian government. How are the government going about meeting their responsibility? They are continuing to cruelly punish people seeking asylum and leave them with no water, no power and no access to health care, whilst at the same time giving them enormous stress, anxiety and fear of what their future may hold.

The Turnbull government's complete mistreatment of people on Manus Island has delivered the Australian taxpayer a hefty $70 million human rights payout, and that does not include legal costs. It is the largest in Australian legal history. But these men have had their voices heard—$70 million in compensation to men illegally detained in dangerous and damaging conditions, all because of the Turnbull government's complete and utter mistreatment of human beings. Surely it would have been easier, less costly and just the right thing to do to treat people with dignity and respect rather than incur the largest human rights payout in our history. A fair go means treating people with dignity and respect, regardless of whether one is a millionaire or a refugee.

At a recent town hall meeting in Townsville, members of my community raised their concerns about the people on Manus. The community is scared about the safety, access to medical attention, and access to water and power for these men. Labor's position has always been clear. Labor have always said that we oppose indefinite detention of people on Manus and Nauru. Labor are not about the exploitation of human beings, and we are certainly not about the cruelty of indefinite detention. The reports that have consistently come out of Manus and Nauru are horrifying, to say the least.

It is critical that this government sets a very high standard now that we have a place on the Human Rights Council, and that includes how we treat people seeking asylum who are in detention. A close look at Australia's human rights record right now shows that Australia is going backwards almost across the board—in the treatment of refugees and of first-nation people in incarceration, violence against women, protecting children in youth justice, and the physical safety of people with a disability. Australia has always strived to be an international leader on human rights, but our current tarnished human rights record is a reflection of the Turnbull government's complete disregard for compassion, dignity and respect. I call on the Turnbull government and the minister to take immediate action to ensure the safety and relocation of the people on Manus Island.

See this speech in context