Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Cities and Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) it has been seven years since New Zealand offered hope to those refugees in Papua New Guinea and Nauru to resettle them in New Zealand; and

(b) more than 65,000 Australians have signed a petition organised by Amnesty International Australia with Craig Foster and Sonny Bill Williams urging the Government to accept the New Zealand Government's generous offer to resettle those refugees; and

(2) calls on the Government to accept the New Zealand offer to resettle refugees.

I often say when beginning my remarks that I'm pleased to be speaking to this motion, but I'm not pleased to have to speak to this motion. I'm not pleased that after seven years these issues are still before the parliament, still unresolved, when they could so easily be resolved. When it comes to our obligations to people seeking our help from places in turmoil around the world there are many issues that are difficult and challenging. We should confront them. We should debate them in this place and in the community thoughtfully and decently, guided by our values. Here we have a simple proposition that, sadly, is not being addressed.

It is being addressed in the community. That is something that this motion acknowledges: that more than 65,000 people––and I understand more since then––have signed a petition saying that enough is enough and calling on the Morrison government, after seven years, to accept the generous offer made by a former prime minister of New Zealand to resettle these people, found to have been refugees, there to enable them to begin their lives.

I move this motion now to speak to a number of audiences. Firstly, to those refugees who have been trapped in limbo for so long, to say that they are not forgotten in this place; secondly, to say to those who have come together to sign this petition to stand up for their values, Australian values, that they are being listened to, that they are a part of this democracy and their voices matter to many of us in this place. I'm very pleased that this motion is not just a Labor motion; it's a motion that was seconded by my friend the member for Warringah, and I believe it's broadly supported on the crossbench. All of us have different perspectives on this issue and many other issues, but in this case we have come together to say we can do better and that, for this group of vulnerable human beings, enough is enough. I was pleased to stand at the front of Australia's parliament during the last sittings to receive this petition, along with many parliamentary colleagues, and acknowledge the enormous amount of work that Craig Foster and Sonny Bill Williams have done, together with that fantastic group of Australians in Amnesty International Australia, to bring together so many people. I want to recognise their leadership. We hear a lot of talk in this place about Australian values and, in particular, about a fair go. Craig Foster and Sonny Bill Williams have exemplified that in a way that many of us should think about.

The core of this issue is the failure of this government to do what is right for a group of vulnerable human beings. For seven years—slightly longer than the time that I've been in this place—New Zealand has offered to resettle the refugees who are on PNG and Nauru. It has now been seven years and 134 days that people have been detained, seemingly endlessly, with all that entails and all the damage to their prospects. We have too often seen the most tragic stories result from that—unimaginable tragedies. These are things that I reflect on more than anything else as I go about my work in this place. I acknowledge that a large number have been resettled in the United States through arrangements that we supported at the time, and I hope those arrangements can be completed. It is heartwarming to hear about lives being rebuilt once people have been resettled. Why have they not been resettled in New Zealand when this is an offer that has been on the table for so long and there is no plausible argument against it being accepted? Too often in this place and too often in this debate we see the purest and basest politics attached to the issue of people seeking asylum in Australia. Too often in the administration of this portfolio we have seen cruelty for only cruelty's sake. Last week, I spoke about Farhad Rahmati, who has been moved around for what appears to be the crime of alerting the Australian community to what is happening, initially in the Kangaroo Point APOD and subsequently at other facilities of detention. Reflecting on him and the contribution he might be making, I again urge government members. I'm very pleased that the member for Berowra will participate in this debate, because we perhaps come at our roles from rather different perspectives. He is a thoughtful and decent man and I'm sure he applies himself to the challenge of this with all the qualities he brings to the aspects of this.

I've fundamentally been thinking about the seven years and what's happened in my life—the growth of my children and the significant events that have taken place and the significance that some aspects of my work have brought to me—and I ask myself: what is different for these people? I say to them, for me and for us, enough is enough.

Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me start by acknowledging the member for Scullin and his genuine commitment to these issues and his very kind personal reflection on me. I have great respect for the member for Scullin, but, on this issue, I think we will find ourselves on very much opposite sides. I want to start by looking at the history of this issue and go a bit deeper and a bit longer than the member for Scullin did in his contribution. I go back to the end of John Howard's period in government and remind this parliament that, when John Howard left office, there were four unauthorised maritime arrivals in detention and no children. That's the truth of what happened at that time. On election eve, Kevin Rudd, the opposition leader, said that he backed John Howard's strong border protection policies, but that is not what he proceeded to do when he sat on the Treasury benches. As a result of the policies that Labor brought in during their time in office, over 50,000 people arrived by boat, on 800 boats, and 1,200 people drowned at sea. I never want to forget those people, because they are lives that were needlessly lost because of the failure of the Labor Party's border protection. Eight thousand children were detained. In July 2013, at the end of the Labor years, there were 10,201 people in detention, including almost 2,000 children. Seventeen detention centres needed to be reopened as a result of these failed policies, and the border protection failures cost the taxpayer $17 billion. These are the things we never want to see restart in Australia; we never want to return to this. These policies came about because the Labor Party was not prepared to undertake the tough measures that this government has been able and willing to bring into place that have stopped the boat arrivals. These include the turnbacks, where it's safe to do so, offshore processing and temporary protection visas. These are tough measures, hard measures, but they are measures that have stopped the boats coming and deaths at sea. They are measures that I am proud to support. They've also seen the closure of 19 detention centres and the removal of all children from detention. That's, again, something that we should be proud of in this parliament.

What does having a border protection program that actually works allow you to do? It restores public confidence in immigration. That's so important and it allows you, as a result of the restoration of public confidence, to be more generous about your humanitarian program. We went from a period under Labor where we had 13,750 refugees to a period now where we have 18,750 refugees. We've increased the number of refugees from the Syrian conflict, allowing us to take 12,000 refugees. You cannot incorporate people in those situations unless you have public confidence in the program. That is why the tough border protection policies that we've taken and put in place have been so important.

The member for Scullin is wrong to say that this matter is unresolved. For people who are genuine refugees, there is the option, if they wish to do so, to be repatriated to their home country or to go to the United States. So far we have resettled over 870 people in the United States. The benefit of our policies is that we've stopped the criminal gangs, we've stopped the people-smuggling gangs, which are looking at what Australia is doing every single day and for any signals that we might restart that particular proposal again.

On Nauru and Manus, in particular, it's important to remind people that every child has now been removed from Nauru and, of the remaining adults on Nauru or Papua New Guinea, none are in detention. They all live in the local community, and the overwhelming majority are single males. Over 140 of them have been found not to be refugees. As I said, the government is happy to help, including booking and paying for their return travel, if they wish to voluntarily return to their country of origin.

On the New Zealand offer, the government appreciates this offer but remains focused on completing the United States resettlement arrangement. As I say, this has been a positive arrangement with 870 refugees resettled and further departures expected in the coming weeks and months.

We are committed to ensuring that people smugglers cannot exploit any resettlement arrangement to market illegal maritime arrivals and illegal maritime ventures and try to bring people in through the back door of New Zealand. Any potential resettlement arrangement must not undermine our ongoing efforts to combat people smuggling. This has been absolutely vital in terms of restoring the reputation of Australia's migration program both here and abroad, and I commend the government's program.

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can only say that the member for Berowra has done the same old thing: trotted out the political games, blamed the other side but ignored the very real issue—seven years in detention. All members who condone that should be ashamed of themselves. I thank the member for Scullin for bringing forward this motion.

Like many others in this place, I received the petition referenced in the motion, signed by over 65,000 people, calling on the Prime Minister to accept the New Zealand offer and resettle the remaining refugees. Currently, there are 290 people remaining in Papua New Guinea and on Manus Island. There is an offer from New Zealand to take up to 150 asylum seekers from PNG and Manus and that offer has been on foot for seven years. This could have all been dealt with by now. There would be no refugees left in PNG or Manus, had we taken up the offer back in 2013 when it was first made.

With all due respect to the member for Berowra, what he just said to this House is just an insult to proper management of people who are in distress and being held without proper process. We're keeping refugees in indefinite detention without hope of release or knowledge of where they will ever call home. They've suffered immensely. They're separated from their families and loved ones. They've been left without hope for seven years and are destitute—physically and emotionally. I was proud to have represented Australia on numerous occasions on the world scene, but I'm definitely not proud of this.

Craig Foster is not proud of this, nor is Sonny Bill Williams and many others. There are stories and videos on the gameover.org.au website, and I'd urge you all to go and watch them. Listen to Adam's story, Samad's story and Moz's story, and then tell me again why you think these people should be kept in indefinite detention. Mohammed is a former farmer from Sudan. He hasn't seen his two young daughters for seven years. One he has never met. She was born after he left. He worries about them every minute of every day. While locked up on Manus, his wife was murdered. He found that out during a short weekly call he was allowed to make, and he will have to live with that reality for years. He has been stranded on Port Moresby, and he is tired and sick beyond his endurance. He just wants his freedom so that he can rebuild his life. His is just one of many stories collected by the Game Over campaign, being championed by Craig Foster, Sonny Bill Williams, Amnesty International and many others. We all need to call time on the seven years of detention that these refugees have suffered and demand that the government finally accept the offer on the table from New Zealand. It is absolute rubbish to stand in this place and justify this ongoing cruel policy.

Offshore detention and the management of facilities are costing Australian taxpayers over a billion dollars a year. I would urge the Morrison government to consider how that money could be better spent in standing up for humanitarian conduct and taking proper care of what needs to be done at home. Last month I spoke on this issue with a Nangami peace and justice group that I met with, and I reiterated their calls for more funding for the Status Resolution Support Services program. Another group I recently met with was an on-arrival detainee support group. They're highlighting the plight of refugees in alternative places of detention who were brought to Australia under medevac legislation—and we know how well that's working out for them. They've raised their concerns around an inability for people to be referred for specialist health treatment. One of those is Moz, a Kurdish refugee who escaped his home after a siege. He is a talented musician who has inspired many others through his songwriting. He dreams of a life filled with music. He spent seven years in Papua New Guinea, with severe asthma, until he was medevac'd at the end of 2019. But instead of getting the treatment he requires Moz remains trapped in a hotel, unable to leave, with no knowledge of what's next.

With due respect to government members—and I would say this to both sides of this chamber, as both parties have condoned policies that have been incredibly inhumane on legitimate refugees—whilst we take a completely perverse approach to these people seeking asylum, we have an influx of people coming in through the airlines and coming by other means. It's time we called time on this policy. These people deserve to be resettled. Accept the New Zealand offer and get on with it: call game over.

Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13:28 to 16:00