Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At noon on 14 October 2005, the Malu Sara left Sabai Island in the Torres Strait for a four-hour journey to Badu Island. I think it is fair to say that the people on board had no idea of the fate that lay before them. However, I know that there were serious concerns—particularly expressed by the skipper—prior to leaving. In fact, he requested that he be able to stay back until the following day because of weather conditions. Unfortunately, his superior officer on Thursday Island insisted that he leave immediately on that journey; 16 hours later that boat had disappeared completely and the five people on board had drowned. Sadly, only one body has ever been found. It was rightly reported that there was a lot of pressure on him to go at that stage and his knowledge of the area was ignored. In forcing him to do so, there were some serious concerns about the seaworthiness of the vessel and concerns about the certification for its use in open seas.

The Queensland State Coroner, Michael Barnes, stated that the circumstances of the Malu Sara were some of the most wretched he had ever been exposed to. The ship had been commissioned without a GPS, a two-way radio or appropriate maps. A marine supplier who was involved asked why the boat that would be used by an Indigenous crew was not fitted with up-to-date equipment, and he was told by a departmental officer, ‘They won’t be needing that. These guys are two generations behind and they won’t be able to use it.’ Comments like this quite frankly make you sick in the stomach.

An experienced boatbuilder who tendered to build the Malu Sara and its five sister ships said that the project was certainly not properly funded. He reported that the project was so underfunded from the word go that they could not possibly have vessels that would do the job safely for the price that was allowed by the department of immigration at the time. Ultimately, the watertight compartments built into the craft by another firm were not properly sealed, and there is evidence that it was so unseaworthy that it was completely unsuitable for the purpose, and it was always going to sink. It was only a matter of when.

The tragedy is that these people could have been saved. Right from the beginning, when they first got into trouble at about four o’clock in the afternoon and calls were made to the manager on Thursday Island, they were initially told by the manager to continue on the journey. He then went off to a social engagement and remained there for the greater part of the rest of the evening. Calls were then made to the police station and, instead of going to look for this fellow, the police sergeant at the time decided to defer to the manager. After many calls on the mobile phone, eventually he found the manager late in the evening and the manager basically said, ‘Oh, it’s all right. We always get these sorts of calls.’ He did not even bother to initiate calls until he went into the office at nine o’clock the next morning. By that stage these people were well and truly dead.

You can understand that recently when there was a court hearing on this it was determined that the department was grossly negligent and was subsequently fined the maximum penalty of $240,000. For five years the families have had to fight to try to get some sort of closure and some sort of compensation. Unfortunately, they have had to go through the legal system, and the value of the lives of these people has been judged on their income from social welfare, from CDEP. Subsequently the payments have been less than adequate. The department, in an effort to, if you like, show their remorse, has named two offices down here in Canberra after the two immigration officers who lost their lives in this tragedy. I have got to tell you that there are no family members in the Torres Strait who are ever going to come to Canberra to have a look at those offices. It is most inappropriate that such a thing has occurred.

We need to start to show that there is genuine remorse. I am proposing that we set up a Malu Sara trust fund. We can start by putting in that $240,000 fine so that it does not just go from one government agency to another. This will be a good start, and it will start to recognise that these lives have not been lost in vain. I have been working with the families of some of those members who, sadly, lost their lives. The community itself has been incredibly generous. Unfortunately, I have to say that government agencies have not followed at the same level. Wilfred Baira; Ted Harry; Flora Enosa and her younger sister, Ethena; and Valorie Saub, the daughter of John and Henrietta Saub from Badu Island, are the victims of this dreadful tragedy. Valorie left behind four children who were aged between three and 11 years old at the time. D-Dow is now 16, Henrietta is 13, Boston is 11 and Do-Fa, who has learning disabilities, is eight. They desperately need support. If you go to their house and have a look, you will see they have been living in a very difficult situation. Henrietta, the grandmother, has one leg and suffers from diabetes, so it is a great struggle trying to keep these kids on a pension.

The community has been absolutely outstanding. At this stage I would like to make reference to Mark Bousen and his family, who have been providing funding to assist this family to buy food for the kids. Every month he has been putting money into an account in the IGA so that these kids can get a decent feed. It is just overwhelming. We have had others out there. Local businesses have been supplying furniture and bedding and what have you, which again is incredibly generous. A young lawyer there, Jason Briggs, has been giving an amazing amount of his time in helping to try and bring some sort of closure and support for these families. But I think we have an obligation in this place to make this happen. I would like to see this trust fund established and I would like to build on the $240,000—if we can have that as the start—so that we can have a perpetual fund we can draw on to have something that can possibly support kids, particularly kids in Badu with disabilities, on an ongoing basis so that these lives have not been lost in vain.

On top of that we need to build a memorial on Badu and another one on Thursday Island where these families can go to grieve. It is absolutely critical that we do that. I would like to also make sure that the individuals that were directly responsible for the deaths of these five innocent victims are held accountable. At this stage they have not faced a court of law. So I am also calling on the government to re-evaluate these situations and give these families the opportunity to have at least a day in court with those responsible so that they can have that level of closure. When you think about it, it is a very small ask for these families, but it does give them a chance to have some level of closure. Today we have an opportunity to put politics aside to give the families of these victims the respect and the closure that they deserve.

I am asking the government to seriously consider this motion, which has the full support of the Torres Strait Islander community, and to respond with compassion and with decent heart. These families have suffered now for over five years. It is very much part of their culture that they need somewhere they can go to grieve. They will never be able to go to tombstones because those families are lost forever. They need a place where they can grieve and we owe it to the families first of all to give the orphans of those victims an opportunity to get their best chance in education and afterwards to provide some way of showing remorse. We can be offering support to victims, for the young children of the Badu community. (Time expired)

Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Leichhardt for bringing the motion before the House. In the language of the western Torres Strait, ‘Malu Sara’ is the name given to the seagull. It is a name familiar to many in this place. It is a name that will be linked forever with the tragic events of October 2005, when five people, travelling across the Torres Strait on a Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs vessel, were lost at sea. The name of the boat was the Malu Sara. The names of those who were lost include: Wilfred Baira, a movement-monitoring officer for the department of immigration and the skipper of the Malu Sara; Ted Harry, also a movement-monitoring officer and a deckhand on the boat; and three passengers—Valerie Saub, Flora Enosa and Flora’s five-year-old daughter, Ethena Enosa.

On 14 October 2005 the Malu Sara was returning from Saibai Island in the Torres Strait to its home community on Badu Island following an annual workshop run by the department of immigration. By mid-afternoon that day, the skipper had reported that he was lost in fog. Early on the morning of 15 October, Wilfred Baira contacted the local office of the department and reported that the Malu Sara was sinking. Rescue operations were undertaken by various authorities over a period of six days, but the boat and the people on board were not located. Only one body was subsequently found by an Indonesian fisherman some 80 kilometres west of where the boat was thought to have sunk. That was the body of Flora Enosa.

In his report on the tragedy, the Queensland Coroner found that the Malu Sara had sunk at 4 am on the morning of 15 October 2010. The tragic fate of the Malu Sara must never be forgotten. We must remember the families, kith and kin of those lost as a result of the terrible tragedy. For the small, tight-knit community of the Torres Strait, the impact of these events is still causing enormous grief. There is a feeling that there is still some way to go before a measure of justice is attained. While respecting the opinion of the community in this regard, it is also useful that, here in this place, we reflect on what has been done in the past five years to address the issues raised by the sinking of this vessel.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has received two claims for civil compensation, as the honourable member for Leichhardt has pointed out. One claim was resolved at mediation on 27 May 2010 and another claim was resolved at mediation on 12 October 2010. The terms of settlement are confidential for the benefit of all, especially the children. Financial compensation, for the reasons spelled out by the member for Leichhardt, can never truly compensate the families left behind after such a terrible event. I am sure the department recognises—and I know the government does—the hurt and pain that this tragedy has caused the families of those who lost their lives when the Malu Sara sank. The department was committed to resolving the families’ claims in a fair and timely manner, with appropriate compensation.

On 2 December last year, the Federal Court, presided over by Justice Collier, delivered its judgment in a Comcare prosecution. The court found that the Commonwealth had breached the relevant provisions of the occupational health and safety legislation and imposed the maximum penalty of $242,000 on the respondent—the Commonwealth. At all stages during the legal action, the department sought to facilitate an expeditious resolution of Comcare’s civil prosecution of the department by minimising the issues in dispute between the parties, including by formally admitting breaches of the occupational health and safety legislation and filing an agreed statement of facts. The court, in its judgment, acknowledged the positive actions post facto that had been taken by the department in the wake of the tragedy. Notwithstanding this, due to the gravity of the consequences of the department’s own breaches, a maximum penalty was imposed.

I am advised that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship accept the recommendations of the independent investigations undertaken by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Comcare and the Queensland coronial inquiry. I am also advised that the department has implemented significant changes to its operations to ensure such a tragedy can never occur again. Indeed, in their judgment, the Federal Court observed that the department has implemented new procurement and contractual procedures, including specific further steps in relation to operations in the Torres Strait.

In addition to their prosecutions of the Commonwealth, Comcare have initiated civil proceedings against the builder of the boat, Subsee Explorer Pty Ltd. As this legal action is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment specifically on the tendering arrangements regarding the procurement of the vessels that included the Malu Sara. However, the department and the government have indicated a willingness to learn from this tragedy and undertake the necessary reforms to ensure it could never happen again.

In my former life I was the National Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, the industrial organisation that represents the industrial interests of employees of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. It was with great sadness that we learned that one of the employees on board the boat was indeed a member of our union. This is a matter I have had ongoing interest in. I acknowledge the genuine concern of the member for Leichhardt for the welfare of the victims’ families, but at this stage the government does not believe the most appropriate way to proceed with this matter is for the legislation of a trust.

That said, I make it plain that I wish to work with the member for Leichhardt to ensure that the proposals included in this motion before the House can be progressed, because I think there is much that can be done. For instance, I think the proposition within the motion that an appropriate memorial be established on Thursday Island and on Badu is appropriate. It beggars belief that any of the residents or the families of those lost in this incident would ever travel to Canberra to visit buildings that had been named after them. Also from my former life as a lawyer I am aware that it is not unusual for a fine of this sort to be paid to the benefit of families, so I would like to work with honourable members opposite to ensure that occurs for the benefit of the communities that have been affected. I would also take an ongoing interest in ensuring that the breaches and shortfalls in policy and procedures that were evidenced in this case do not occur again and that we can learn everything possible from the findings of the coronial inquiry and the Federal Court matters that have thus far been included.

In conclusion, the government and the department have accepted responsibility for the tragic events of the Malu Sara by cooperating with legal action, both current and pending. Compensation for the families of victims has occurred, and we are changing internal processes such as tendering and procurement. Nothing can bring the lost ones home but we must remember, learn and change to ensure that their deaths, while terribly sad and tragic, were not in vain. I repeat again that if there is anything I can do as an individual member, I am prepared to help. Torres Strait is a long way from the electorate of Throsby. I have spent too long as an official for the Community and Public Sector Union not to want to continue to prosecute the cause of health and safety for those who put their lives at risk in the service of their country, such as those charged with the terribly important duty of protecting our borders in the northern parts of Australia.

Wilfred Baira, Immigration officer; Ted Harry, Immigration Officer; Valorie Faub; Flora Enosa and her daughter Ethena. Rest in peace

I rise to support the Member for Leichhardt’s motion seeking government support for the victims of the loss of the Malu Sara. I cannot remove the politics from this, because I believe the government has a role here. It must act, on behalf of the government in charge at the time and the government now. I shudder to think what would have happened if this accident had occurred in Sydney Harbour or on Port Phillip Bay, and what the level of compensation and the amount of transparency would have been then. I cannot help but feel that those of us who live northern Australia are quite often subject to another set of rules.

The Malu Sara set out on a journey from Saibai Island to Badu Island on 14 October 2005. It never made it. These people were not on a fishing trip in a beat-up tinnie; they were on patrol for the department of immigration. They did not have useless or failed safety equipment. The government did not give them any of the latest safety equipment. They also sent them out in atrocious conditions. I do not propose to take shots at the government officials who sent these people out with inferior equipment saying that they were two generations behind and would not be able to use more modern equipment. The coroner has done his job and I just pray that we never have to speak about these sorts of totally avoidable tragedies ever again.

If you have spent any time in the Torres Strait you would know that these people are instinctive and natural sailors, but this is a hostile environment and one where everyone should take the greatest of care. It may not look like it when you are standing on the dock at Thursday Island watching these guys going past in their big tinnies with huge outboards on the back doing a million miles an hour, seemingly without a care in the world, but the rips and tides are huge in the strait and trouble is never very far away for the unwary.

The coroner has dealt a fine of $242,000 to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, and recommended disciplinary measures to the individuals concerned. But we must say to all the people of Australia that they are equal and they are valued. We must say to all the people of Australia that if the government does something wrong it must be prepared to assist with the recovery. I propose that we do the right thing by these people. What we have here is a breach of faith by all governments and there is a lack of respect for those who have fallen. What we have to do is fix it.

To fine a government department $242,000 is one thing—and I recognise that that is the maximum penalty available—but to have the money go back to the government is a complete waste of time. They may as well not do the transaction at all, for all it will achieve. The member for Leichhardt rightly suggests that the money be given to the families of the deceased in the form of a trust for the children of the deceased. They are being cared for by grandparents and their community. Let no-one here suggest that money can take the place of a loving parent, but they are deserving of support. They will have needs for education and social inclusion, which will always cost money. We must do what we can to ease the burden of those who are left to take the place of a parent lost due to government error.

The $242,000 would be a good start. It will do them a damn sight more good than it will by going back into consolidated revenue. Governments must also be prepared to assist in the future should that need arise. We must also warn others that all governments may not always have their best interests at heart. If the government tried to launch this boat as it was on the Swan River, in Sydney Harbour or in Port Phillip Bay they would have been laughed off the dock. It simply would not have happened. But in the Torres Strait the department deemed it okay to send them out into one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world with inadequate equipment and in atrocious conditions.

The government has named two rooms in Parliament House in their honour. As prestigious as that may be, it will have absolutely no impact on those in the Torres Strait. The member for Leichhardt has rightly suggested twin memorials in appropriate places on Badu and Thursday Islands. If you stand on tiptoes on the Russian fort at Thursday Island you can just see the mainland. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but you are as close as close can be to Papua New Guinea.

The immigration officials and the guys operating these cruises are making sure that people are doing the right thing, but the traffic between Papua New Guinea and Torres Strait is huge. There are five beds in the Thursday Island hospital that are continually filled by those from Papua New Guinea with drug-resistant tuberculosis, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and the like. It is a very dangerous place and they are very mobile, so the role these people play is vital.

There are island communities in the electorate of Herbert. The people on Magnetic and Palm Islands also extend their sympathies and condolences to the five deceased and their families. I need to speak out on this because Palm Island is populated by our first people. A tragedy like this could happen nearer to Townsville. I swore to all the people I represent in the seat of Herbert that no-one will be left behind.

I firmly believe that this government is all talk and no action when it comes to our first Australians. You only have to look at Palm Island to see the level of housing being developed and to see the absolute waste and contempt in which the government holds these people. We are building houses on Palm Island which are two feet below the line of the sewerage. I cannot say in this House what you can push uphill, but it is very difficult.

We recently saw the government table the Closing the gap Prime Minister’s report 2010. I challenge the government’s commitment to this when you look at the treatment of these poor souls sent to their deaths and detention on Palm Island. If the government is serious about closing the gap and being upfront and honest with our first Australians, they have to act swiftly. To delay is to say that they are indeed second-class citizens and do not deserve to be treated as equals. I now challenge the government and ministers Bowen and Macklin to attend these islands and tell the people that they would not have received better equipment in other parts of Australia. I challenge the government and ministers Bowen and Macklin to front these people and tell them that a room in Parliament House is a huge honour and they should be happy with that. I challenge the government and ministers Bowen and Macklin to front these people and be fair dinkum.

I do not excuse the Howard government for their role here, but I want this fixed, and we, this parliament and this government are the ones who can and should facilitate this. It is time to act and time to be upfront. You cannot just do it in the Murray-Darling Basin, in places in Sydney or in the inner suburbs of Melbourne; we have to do it in northern Australia. I commend the member’s motion to this House.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker Entsch. You, like me, are very familiar with the region where the boat was lost. We have both visited Saibai Island and have seen just how close Saibai Island is to Papua New Guinea. But before I get to the substance of my debate I have to say I was pretty disappointed with that last contribution to this debate. It is about playing politics with this issue, calling on Minister Bowen and Minister Macklin when this is something that happened under the previous government. I was not even going to refer to that in my contribution to this debate until the member for Herbert decided to politicise an issue that I congratulate the member for Leichhardt on bringing to this House. I know that he is a member who is totally committed to his electorate and the people he represents in this House—unlike, I am sorry to say, the member for Herbert, who wanted to play politics with a motion that was brought to the House with such goodwill. I have to put on record my disappointment with the member for Herbert for trying to play politics with something as significant as this.

As I said at the commencement of my contribution to this debate, you only have to stand on the shores of Saibai Island or Thursday Island and look out into the Torres Strait to know just how this is such a busy seaway and to know that people take risks there every day. The particular disaster occurred on 14 October 2005, when the Malu Sara was returning from Saibai Island to the Torres Strait and its home in the community of Badu Island when it disappeared. On board were five people. There was a skipper, someone from immigration and three passengers, including a four-year-old girl. It is very sad that a four-year-old girl, with so much to look forward to in life, would lose her life in this way.

The skipper contacted the department office and reported that they were sinking. Rescue operations were undertaken by various authorities over a period of six days. After that it was abandoned. There was only one survivor subsequently found, and that survivor was found by an Indonesian fisherman. It was a very sad event with a great loss to the family and also to all of the communities in the Torres Strait. I know it would have been devastating for those communities because I know how close they are and how important each and every family member is. This disaster would have reverberated throughout the Torres Strait, and I am sure its effects are still being felt.

I note the findings of the coroner’s inquiry. He first published his findings in February 2009. There have been some very scathing comments made about this whole incident, particularly the fact, as I think we can quite honestly say in this place, that things did not happen in the way we would expect them to happen in a number of cases. I noted the member for Throsby saying that he was happy to work with the member for Leichhardt to see if he could do something to help those memorials to be built. I give that same undertaking to the member for Leichhardt as I am happy to work with him on this. As for the result of what happened, Comcare are still instigating an inquiry and they are still involved with a civil court proceeding against Subsee Explorer Pty Ltd, the company that was engaged to supply the department with five vessels, for breach of federal work, health and safety laws. The matter is still before the Federal Court, so I really cannot comment on that. I have been told that what happened has led to changes, and I think that there always need to be more changes taking place after a tragedy like this.

I turn to look a little bit more at the motion. There is the fact that the respondent, the department, admitted liability, which is a positive because they did not try to hide the fact that they were in the wrong. I think governments should—as should individuals—always admit it if the wrong thing happens. As the member for Leichhardt rightly points out in his motion, the process was so flawed. The court fined the respondent—the department—$242,000. This is where we probably get into a bit of trouble, with legislating to establish a trust for the benefit of the families. I would like to suggest to the member for Leichhardt that he put together some sort of a budget submission for funds to be set aside for the trust, as opposed to putting it in the motion, because I do not think that much will come out of this because it does have a financial implication as to the memorials. What the member for Leichhardt would like to do is to take it to another level and to do that I think he needs to look at a way to actually do that. As for the fine, from a legal perspective it is really difficult to take that $242,000 and put it into a trust. A lot of work has to happen along the way as it is not an automatic thing that you can transfer a fine to a trust. I think what he can do is put together some sort of a submission that argues for that to take place so it all ends up being something that will really deliver to the people that the member for Leichhardt would like to see this delivered to. It is really important that we all learn from what happened up in the Torres Strait back in 2005.

It is also important to note that there have been two claims for compensation that have been paid. One was mediated on and resolved on 27 May 2010. Rightly, the terms of settlement are being regarded as confidential. I think that that has absolutely no bearing on what the member for Leichhardt is trying to achieve here; it is not one or the other. There was a second settlement that was agreed to later last year, which once again was mediated on and agreed to; it provided the family with some recompense for the losses that they incurred. But, no matter what financial compensation is paid, those families have lost their loved ones. At the commencement of my contribution to this debate, I emphasised the importance of family to people that live in the Torres Strait, and that is where even a memorial might be a more lasting way to preserve the memories of those people that were lost. But, before that can happen, I would like to suggest again to the member for Leichhardt that maybe he could put together a budget submission and look at seeking funding through the appropriate channels. So I congratulate him on bringing this motion to the House. It is an important motion that deals with safety in the Torres Strait. (Time expired)

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.