Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Nettle may not be aware, whereas I think most other senators and members are, of claims that have been raised in the past by the Edmund Rice Centre and which, as a consequence of them being serious claims, were followed up. In 2005 a number of visits were made by officers from the immigration department to the Edmund Rice Centre. I think on each occasion, but certainly on the second if I recall my brief properly, further information was requested and was not forthcoming. A number of further approaches were made, albeit not visits, and the information was subsequently not provided. As a consequence of that, we notified the Edmund Rice Centre in May of this year that that investigation would be closed because we did not have any more information.

What happened earlier this week? In an odd coincidence of facts, the day before there was to be a debate in this parliament on a bill relating to potential asylum seekers, the Edmund Rice Centre reappears publicly and asserts that nine people who have been returned, having been to Nauru, have been killed. Two names are provided and there is a further suggestion that a person who was returned no longer has his children surviving. To the best of my knowledge at this point, no other names have been provided. So, to take the Edmund Rice Centre claims as fact at this point is, with respect, jumping the gun and, following on a previous pattern, not necessarily a wise move. We did have a look at the two names that were suggested by the Edmund Rice Centre as being people that Australia had returned. I was advised by my department that one of them was part of the Australian case load on Nauru but the other was part of the UNHCR case load. So I will raise that matter with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Geneva and see what they have to say about the implied criticism of UN processing of people on Nauru.

It would not surprise me if, out of the millions and millions of displaced people from Afghanistan who have returned to Afghanistan with support from the United Nations since 2001 or 2002, not all of them at this point are alive. That may be the case. It may also be the case that some people who returned voluntarily and accepted a voluntary return package of $2,000 each have subsequently lost their lives in circumstances that we do not know. But without further advice it is impossible to say.

As to the question of voluntary return, I make the point that we work with the International Organisation for Migration. This is an internationally recognised body, it is internationally respected and it works with the UNHCR all over the world. One of the conditions of working with the IOM on Nauru is that there are no involuntary returns. So I will take the matter up with the IOM as well.