Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Carr. I refer the minister to the report by Amnesty International entitled A blow to humanity: torture by judicial caning in Malaysia, which states:

Across Malaysia, government officials regularly tear into the flesh of prisoners with rattan canes travelling up to 160 kilometres per hour. The cane shreds the victim’s naked skin, turns the fatty tissue into pulp, and leaves permanent scars that extend all the way to muscle fibres. Blood and flesh splash off the victim’s body, often accompanied by urine and faeces. This gruesome spectacle is kept hidden from public view.

Given that the Malaysia-Australia transfer agreement is not legally binding, can the minister provide the Senate with an ironclad guarantee that asylum seekers sent by Australia to Malaysia will not under any circumstances at all be caned?