Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

It is worse. This is worse than the legislation under John Howard. Do you know what is going to happen, Senator Milne? That is why the coalition love it, because they have well and truly done the government over. The government is introducing worse legislation than John Howard did. The government is ripping out the limited rights that John Howard had in his legislation. The Houston report says that, if you are going to do this, you have to at least have these assurances. This legislation lets the government of the day off the hook. They do not even have to exist. I doubt the minister even was aware because, if she was, why would you continue to reference them, because they are totally irrelevant? They are not required; they do not have to exist. They are not meaningful in any way.

I think we should start to get onto the amendments that we have circulated, because the reality is that this legislation is not worth any of the responses that the government is even giving us because none of it is in the legislation. They are hollow words from a government which is designing a piece of law to circumvent the rights of people to arrive here asking for our assistance and the very clear indications that the High Court gave this parliament of the protections that needed to be upheld. My question to the minister, referring to the substance of my amendment 7264 is: what is the definition of indefinite detention? I would like the minister to answer some questions about the amendment. I move:

(1)   Schedule 1, item 25, page 10 (after line 12), after section 198AD, insert:

198ADA 12 month limit on transfer to regional processing country

  (1)   The Minister must ensure that a person who is transferred to a regional processing country under section 198AD is transferred to Australia no later than 12 months after the day on which the person arrived in the regional processing country.

  (2)   Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a person who is not in the regional processing country 12 months after the day on which the person arrived in the country.

  (3)   Section 198AD does not apply in relation to a person who is transferred to Australia under subsection (1).