Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a question for the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The government promised it would take a more compassionate approach to asylum seekers. But asylum seekers who have been living in limbo for 10 years are being told to wait another year before resolution. Asylum seekers still don't have access to Medicare, work or a safety net, and there's been no increase to our humanitarian intake. Are these delays due to a lack of will or a lack of capacity? And how will the government deliver on its promise?

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Curtin for her question. I recognise her deep interest in these issues and the engagement that she and I have had over them. I acknowledge, in particular, that I have been to her electorate and engaged with concerned community members and also people seeking asylum in her community. At this moment I want to take this opportunity to extend my thoughts to her staff, who I know are going through a challenging time.

On the question she has asked directly, let me say this: I am very proud to be part of a government that is all about keeping its commitments, in every area. When it comes to this area of policy, that is particularly important—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Casey will cease interjecting.

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think there are two really big points that go to how the Albanese government approaches these very difficult questions. The first one is to recognise that we have got to do two things: we have to maintain a secure border without ever losing sense of our humanity and decency as a people. Secondly, we have to change the conversation in this country, which has been debased for so long—in particular under those opposite for nearly a decade.

The member for Curtin expresses some concerns and frustration about progress. Let me say a few things to that. We've got to be clear across every aspect of this government that you don't deal with nine years worth of dysfunction within a year. We've got to be straight with people, particularly when issues such as this—which are so fundamental to someone's life—are at stake. But I can tell the member for Curtin this: last year we delivered the humanitarian program in full for the first time since the year 2018-19. We delivered that program in full. That's a statement of our priorities. We have just concluded the really deep consultations around this year's humanitarian program, and I'll have more to say about that in the coming days.

In terms of the legacy caseload, people trapped in limbo for a decade for no good reason, we have got on with the job. I am very pleased to inform the House and the member that more than 5,000 people have already been transitioned to permanent visas, giving them the chance to make the contribution they should make in certainty. We have invested in visa processing—something that we have read a bit about lately, something that was deeply neglected by members opposite for so long—so we can make these changes and build a system that gives effect to our obligations. Right now there are more people forcibly displaced than at any time in human history. Right now there are more refugees around the world than at any time in human history. We as a government recognise this. We recognise that this isn't an Australian problem; this is a global problem in which Australia must play a leading role, and the Albanese government is playing that role.