Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. It is just under nine months since the member for North Sydney introduced an earlier version of this bill. It was timely then and, considering the febrile state of the world, it is urgent now. Humanity should be the starting point for any conversation about war and its consequences, and indefinite detention is inhumane. So is seeking to exclude people fleeing one war zone from Australia's refugee program, as the Coalition has suggested.

I note the parallels with Donald Trump's toxic Muslim ban of 2017, banning people from entering the US from particular countries. I covered this when I was US Bureau Chief for the ABC, and I note Trump's more recent comments threatening to step up travel bans from so-called 'terror-plagued countries'. We must not allow this kind of rhetoric to go unchecked here in Australia. As the world's wars escalate and force people to flee to safety, we must remain clear-eyed, reasoned and empathetic, as this bill, the Migration Amendment (Limits on Immigration Detention) Bill 2024, is.

The people of Goldstein voted for me in part because I stand for more humane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. Most refugees are no threat to Australia. They should be treated with respect and sensitivity. It is timely to note that Australia is the nation that provided a haven for the highest concentration of Holocaust survivors in the world. The Jewish community that has since made a home in the safety of Melbourne and Sydney is something we should all be proud of.

We've also provided a home for those fleeing wars across South-East Asia, including Cambodians who fled the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, which killed up to three million people. We welcomed people from war-torn Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and elsewhere. The innocent civilians of Gaza should be granted entry under exactly the same terms and conditions, and that euphemistically named processing should be efficient and sensitive, reflecting respect for the situation from which they have come.

Despite stated Labor policy, we are more than two-thirds of the way through this term of parliament, within eyesight of the next election, and still living with the stain of offshore detention on our national character. The updated bill clearly brings offshore detention within its scope, as well as reflecting developments, including the NZYQ High Court case and the establishment of the Administrative Review Tribunal. It is of profound concern that Nauru is now hosting six times more people than it did six months ago. This return to offshore detention by stealth must be stopped, and those sitting on the government benches should live up to the promise of their party platform and support this bill. I commend the bill to the House.

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