Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is amazing that, whenever we are talking about issues on which both government and opposition should be showing compassion towards people in very difficult circumstances, we have to sit in this chamber and listen to the tripe that is dished up. Look at the record of the previous government in relation to how they actually treated and processed asylum seekers.

Let us not forget that we are in the middle of the worst global financial crisis that this country has experienced in more than 75 years. As we know, that is affecting many, many other countries around the globe. It is very unfortunate that people and those seeking to make money out of the misery of others are taking to the seas and trying to enter our country illegally.

But let us not forget, either, the record of the former Howard coalition government when it comes to refugees. The Australian people very clearly remember ‘children overboard’. I do not hear anyone on the other side wanting to talk about that, apart from trying, as they do on so many issues, to rewrite history. I think the Australian people see a stark contrast between this government and those opposite who were in government under the Howard leadership. They remember very clearly the faces of children being held in detention behind barbed wire fences. It was very appropriate that the first speaker who raised this today reminded us of how little compassion was shown by those opposite when only last week they voted against the bill in relation to detention centre debts.

It is more than obvious that those opposite are still so far out of touch that they do not understand the concern and the compassion that the Australian community want us, as a responsible government, to demonstrate towards asylum seekers. And no-one—certainly no-one on this side of the chamber and, I believe, the majority of those opposite—want to see asylum seekers entering this country illegally. But the Rudd government have set very clear parameters on how we will deal with those refugees and asylum seekers. We are quite definitely opposed to people smuggling and the organisation of illegal entry and movements across international borders of people who are trying to enter our country. When we look at this very important issue, we must always show some compassion and make sure that these people are treated with dignity and respect. But when we come into this chamber and constantly hear from those opposite about the lack of planning and the lack of policies in this area, it is another example of how they want to incite racism in this country. Those opposite have learnt nothing since they have been on the opposition benches. They have learnt nothing about the way in which they should be listening to what the Australian people expect of them and of those who are fortunate enough to sit on the government benches.

Let us talk about past policies. The issue of policies has been very interesting over the weekend.