Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—The Australian government has indicated it could not support the proposed notice of motion in its current form. The Australian government again places on the record its objection to dealing with complex international matters, such as the one before us, by means of formal motions. Such motions are blunt instruments. They force parties into black and white choices—support or oppose. They do not lend themselves to the nuances which are so necessary in this area of policy. Furthermore, they are too easily misinterpreted by some audiences as statements of policy by the national government. The Australian government is happy to continue to work with the minor parties on notices of motion of this nature, but we will not support notices of motion in the Senate unless we are completely satisfied with their content.

This motion failed to acknowledge that the Australian government is already considering the US request to resettle Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay in Australia. In May this year the Australian government received a request from the US government to resettle in Australia 10 Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay. We have indicated that we are giving consideration to the request on a case-by-case basis in line with our immigration and national security requirements. The motion states that the six Uighur men were cleared of all charges of war crimes. I am advised that the men were in fact never charged. The US Department of Justice stated on 31 October that the six Uighurs received by Palau had been cleared for release by the prior US administration, which determined that it would no longer treat them as enemy combatants.