Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I have only been a senator in the chamber for three sitting weeks, but I am learning a lot about government, parliamentarians and the responsibility that we all share. I reflect upon what is going through my mind sometimes when I come into the Senate chamber as someone who is new. I think about what people outside the big house may think when they see parliamentarians—I prefer to use that word rather than 'politicians'—on television. That is that perhaps we make decisions that might seem light and fluffy or frivolous at various times or that we somehow serve an administrative function, passing bills and legislation that may relate to the running of government. I can see clearly now the responsibility that goes with government.

All the decisions that we make affect people. Sometimes there may not be direct correlations with the decisions we make. There may be trickle-down effects or things may be fairly general. But I think this debate on refugees has a different human dimension. To me, the decisions we make in this parliament today on this legislation will not only directly impact people and their livelihoods but will also impact people who are probably in the least fortunate position to be put under even more psychological stress. For my feeling, all decisions we make in parliament are important but there is something very special about this debate today and the gravity of the decision we make.

I attended the cross-party refugee meeting on Monday with a number of my colleagues, and it occurred to me not just during that meeting but also in previous discussions with my fellow Greens senators and friends and family just what a complex problem this is that is facing Australia. It is a problem that is not going to go away. During that committee meeting we heard from a number of people who work with refugees. My position and the Greens' position of strength in this debate is from values based on the same values as those people who work with refugees. They are based on the same principles that those people who work with refugees adopt. Our position is based on the realities of what faces refugees. We have not taken this view for political purposes. We have taken this view after campaigning and working for a number of years with people who are on the ground and whose everyday lives are impacted by working with refugees. They see the angst, the destruction and the sadness. I think that is the Greens' position of strength here. It is a position based not on the broader political factors but on the reality of what is confronting us in that situation.

Earlier today Senator Hanson-Young talked about push factors. On Monday, the Refugee Council and Amnesty International discussed the potential push factors in Afghanistan when Western, NATO and allied troops are withdrawn from there in a few years time. We have discussed what has happened in Vietnam; it has been mentioned several times in several speeches. It has been made very clear that we possibly do not know what we will be in for in terms of the number of people who will be seeking political asylum here.

My question is: is this legislation a mistake from the point of view that we are picking on the most unfortunate people in the world when we are in such a fortunate situation? Also, is the solution we are putting in place today—the bill that will be tabled here—practical? Is it going to work? From a quick look at the numbers—and this was mentioned earlier by a coalition senator; I apologise that I have not learnt everybody's names yet—we have seen 22,000 people arrive since 2007. Last year alone, we saw 7,983 people arrive. From the best information that I can collect, Nauru can currently house 1,500 people and, at peak capacity, potentially 3,000 people. Manus Island, PNG, has a capacity to house 600 people. The nearly 8,000 people who have arrived in the last 12 months is a reflection of a future year—