Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to express my and the Greens's strong support for the two requests in the 'Noise pollution from Brisbane Airport's flight path' petition that tabled in this place in October. The 2,455 signatories had two reasonable requests:

1. Amend the Air Services Act 1995 to free Airservices Australia from its regulatory capture by the aviation industry and ensure it protects the human and natural environment, community amenity and residential areas from the effects of the operation and use of aircraft.

2. Review to what extent the ministerial approval granted in 2007 relied on flawed and misleading data, with a view to revoke the approval of the current aviation airspace management plan for Brisbane Airport.

Local communities in Brisbane are dealing with significant noise pollution due to the second runway and subsequent changes to flight paths approved by this federal government. Earlier this week hundreds of Brisbane residents joined the Greens candidate for the seat of Griffith, Max Chandler-Mather, in a large rally against unsustainable aircraft noise. As Max Chandler-Mather pointed out, it's important to emphasise that this fight isn't just about the tens of thousands of residents directly affected right now; it's about the very future of Brisbane. As a member of parliament who supported the battles of Melbourne residents against aircraft noise, I understand the community's concern and the importance of this fight. I want to commend the residents who are willing to fight to win this battle and I want to add my voice and the Greens's strength to their cause.

What's happening right now in the Park Hotel in Melbourne marks yet another dark chapter in this country's bipartisan cruel treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. At least 21 of the 46 refugees held there have tested positive to COVID-19. One is in hospital. The rest believe that infection is inevitable and that their lives are in immediate danger. The government was warned this would happen. They were warned that this superinfectious virus would run rampant in the unventilated hotel rooms. It's a COVID incubator, but they didn't care. They chose not to act. These people came here seeking our protection. They were sent offshore to camps that the Labor Party set up. Then, since they came here, the government has completely and utterly failed them. People in my electorate of Melbourne had to summon everything they had to get through all 263 days of lockdown, and many couldn't imagine even one more day, but these men have been in detention for eight years. Eight years! Some arrived as boys and they are now men. Haven't they suffered enough?

We know the government can fix this. They released many of the medevac refugees from the Park Hotel eight months ago. They can do it again. With the stroke of a pen, they could grant them permanent protection, get them the treatment they need and let them safely join the community. We cannot take back the years of suffering, but we can stop their torture today. The name of the hospitalised asylum seeker is Mohammad Sohrabi. Prior to contracting the virus, he had requested a vaccine, and he's now saying: 'I don't know what to say. I'm just trying to breathe.'

Let them stay, get them the help they need and close the gaps. (Time expired)