Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Any amendment to legislation that assists our border control agencies and our Defence Force in dealing with the protection and security of our borders should be supported. This bill, the Maritime Powers Bill 2012, would be supported without qualification if it made clear that the amendments would in fact ensure that Australian officials had all of the right powers to do it. As I understand the bill, though, and as I understand the report of the Senate committee looking into the bill, there is some uncertainty on whether the provisions of this bill will actually take away from Australian enforcement agencies some of the rights which they currently enjoy. To that end, as Senator Payne has said in leading the debate, the coalition will be moving some amendments to make absolutely certain to clarify the fact that, should it be necessary, Australian officers, officials and agencies will be able to turn around boats.

You do not need a Western Australian state election to highlight the fact that most Australians are appalled at the current government's complete inability and, it seems, disinterest in stopping illegal arrivals to our country. There are good reasons why Australia should have an ordered immigration program and an ordered refugee program. I say particularly to the Greens political party when this issue is raised: what do you say to the tens of millions of UNHCR-determined refugees living in squalid detention camps and refugee camps right around the world who are patiently waiting for their turn to come into Australia in accordance with United Nations and Australian rules? Every one of those who come to Australia illegally means that those who are waiting in the queue in these squalid detention camps and refugee camps around the world are put back another year because of people coming here illegally. I say to the Greens political party: when all of you rail about that, get on TV and shed the crocodile tears, what do you say to those people waiting their turn in the refugee camps around the world? These are people who have been determined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to be genuine refugees. They are people who, when spaces become available in Australia, Canada, the United States, Europe or New Zealand, take their turn. But, with people arriving here illegally, those people are put back. Never once have I heard the Greens—or the Labor Party, for that matter—address that position. That is why it is essential that we in fact have laws that enable Australian agencies to deter those who would enter our country illegally.

I want to refer to just a couple of quotations that should indicate the depth of support for effective means of deterring illegal entrants to our country. I quote a former Labor leader who I expect might be the next Labor leader. I do not know what happened this morning in caucus. Have we had a change of leadership yet, or is that for next Tuesday? Anyhow, Mr Rudd said before the 2007 election:

… Labor would take asylum-seekers who had been rescued from leaky boats to Christmas Island, would turn back seaworthy vessels containing such people on the high seas … "You'd turn them back," he said of boats approaching Australia, emphasising that Labor believed in an "orderly immigration system" enforced by deterrence.

Who could disagree with that? In fact, Mr Rudd was enumerating the Howard government's position. Mr Rudd was saying what I think—and the people of Western Australia clearly demonstrated this on the weekend—most Australians would expect.

But what has happened under the Gillard government and indeed the Rudd government? Talk is always pretty cheap for the Labor Party, but have a look at what its actions are. Since Labor has been in power, there has been an enormous increase. Some 33,495 people have arrived under Labor's watch, and they have arrived by entering Australia in a way that is not authorised by law. There have been 570 boats since Labor came to power. In this year alone we have already had 1,500 arrivals. In 2012, 25,000 people entered Australia in this fashion, contrary to the law.

I want to make it clear that the coalition are not against immigration, and we are certainly not against refugee intake. In fact, we, along with all political parties in Australia, welcome immigration and, importantly, we do our share in taking into our country genuine refugees who have been determined as such by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees—and so we should. I think all Australians appreciate that. In fact, on a per capita basis, Australia is one of the most generous countries in bringing in genuine refugees. But that is why we do need a proper deterrent. I make no determination, but there are certainly suggestions that a lot of people coming in are not refugees, are not in fear of their lives or their liberties, but are looking for a better life. I do not blame them for looking for a better life, but we do have rules and regulations and we have a very genuine and generous refugee program that should be enforced. We now have the situation where the current government have completely lost control of the borders.

There is sometimes some debate on whether you can turn boats around safely. I refer senators to the evidence given by the distinguished seaman who is now Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Griggs. During a Senate estimates committee, I think it was in the budget estimates last year, he explained how, as a mere patrol boat captain—that is how he referred to himself at the time—he did turn boats around. That was in the Howard years. He also explained, I might say in fairness, that in some instances that was not possible, but he did say, and it is on the record, that you can turn boats around. That is what happened in the Howard years. Do you know the impact that had? Those who would spend $10,000, or $15,000 or $20,000—I do not know what the going rate is, but a lot of money—to pay criminals, people smugglers, to come into the country, would not spend up to $100,000 for their family to come to Australia by these illegal means if they knew that the government was serious about enforcing the protection of our borders; if they knew they were just going to be put straight onto a plane and sent back, or if they knew that the boat they were on was going to be turned around, then they would not come. That would have a couple of results. It would mean that 1,000 people who lost their lives trying to come to Australia on leaky boats that should not have been put out to sea—boats that are run by criminals, who are, ipso facto, supported by the Labor Party's inability to control our borders—might still be alive today. They might still be alive today if there had been a deterrent which said to those people: 'If you want to come to Australia, do it in the right way. Make the application like other people do, or if you're a genuine refugee, abide by the rules of the UNHCR and Australia for bringing in those people'.

If this bill did what the minister indicated that it would do in his second reading speech, then it would be a bill which the coalition would unequivocally support. There is, however, this thought that it may be that the consolidation of various rules actually takes away some of the ability of our enforcement agencies to properly protect our border. I note that there was a dissenting report in the Senate inquiry into this piece of legislation. Coalition senators reported:

… this legislation may represent a surreptitious attempt to remove the Commonwealth's power to turn back unauthorised boats as part of an effective national border control policy.

I think that the minority report indicated that the term 'surreptitious' was used because agency witnesses before the committee were unable to state whether this power was preserved in the bill. That is a bit of a worry and that is why the coalition will be moving amendments to make sure that the powers are there to allow authorised officers to turn boats back where it is safe to do so. Similarly, I understand that the committee ascertained that the powers of stopping, manoeuvring, chasing and detaining vessels in clauses 54 and 69 are silent on the question of turning back those vessels. I hope that those amendments, when they are moved, will receive the support of the Labor Party at least.

I also refer senators from the Labor Party to the principles enunciated by Mr Rudd when he was their leader about the powers that were needed. I also refer senators to some parts of the Houston report, which looked into this issue some months ago. Senators might recall that the Houston report's fourth principle is:

Turning around a vessel would need to be conducted consistently with Australia's obligations under the SOLAS Convention, particularly in relation to those on board the vessel, mindful also of the safety of those Australian officials or Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel involved in any such operation.

So again recognising that there are times when vessels can be turned around. There are examples of it—it happened during the Howard years. And what happened during the Howard years? The flow of illegal arrivals to Australia stopped, because people realised that if they are paying out $50,000 to $100,000 to get here it might all be in vain if they were dealt with in the way that the Australian officials had powers to do.

We are a generous country when it comes to entering Australia as a refugee. There are so many people who have been determined to be refugees waiting in squalid refugee camps around the world who, every time an illegal arrival comes, get put back by yet another year. That is something we have to address.

I urge senators in this chamber to make it quite clear that this bill does enhance powers, not detract from them. As I said at the beginning, you do not need a Western Australian election to tell you that people around Australia are concerned about the porous nature of our borders. If Ms Gillard spoke to any genuine people in Western Sydney last week, they would have told her that they, like every other Australian, believe that our borders should be secure. We should have a regular immigration system and a refugee system that works, is ordered and well-determined. So I urge senators, when the time comes, to support the coalition's amendments to make sure that our officials have the maximum powers to properly enforce our laws.