John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Given that Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations refugee convention, what formal guarantee has the minister received from the Malaysian government to 'provide protection for persons seeking asylum, pending determination of their refugee status' as required by the Migration Act?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bennelong for his question and I welcome the opposition's new-found interest in the rights and protection of asylum seekers in Australia. I refer the honourable member for Bennelong to the commitments made by the Prime Minister of Malaysia in the joint statement with the Prime Minister of Australia, which indicated that asylum seekers would be treated with dignity and respect if they were processed in Malaysia. I also refer the honourable member to my numerous public statements that the negotiations on the operational details are continuing with Malaysia and that the government will be providing further information as those negotiations are completed.

I also bring the honourable member's attention to the statements by the UNHCR, both in Geneva and Australia, that this arrangement represents a significant step forward and presents the opportunity to improve protection for asylum seekers throughout the Asia-Pacific region. I understand the frustrations of the opposition, who are willing this arrangement to fail. I understand that the opposition are devastated that the government has reached an international agreement to break the business model of the people smugglers at the same time as we are increasing our humanitarian intake. I understand their sensitivity, but they will be disappointed as we continue to implement this innovative and bold arrangement.