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

Pursuant to contingent notice, I move:

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent Senator Hanson-Young moving a motion to take note of documents tabled by Senator Cash in relation to an order for the production of documents concerning border protection.

What a pathetic display we have just seen. Not only do they not even respond to the order for the production of documents as required twice now by this place; they then want to shut down all discussion in relation to it. This is a government absolutely obsessed with secrecy and spying and covering up, with not letting anyone in the public know what is really going on. Of course, all we need to do these days is read the front page of the Jakarta Post to find out what a screaming success this government's border protection policy 'operation secret boats' has really become. This government is obsessed with secrecy.

We know that the minister has not been able to answer the questions and put forward the documents that this place has asked for. The Australian people have a right to know how many boats have been turned back on our high seas and how many times Australia's brave personnel—our Customs personnel, our Navy personnel—have been put at risk because of this government's reckless 'turning back the boats' policy. Why is it that a boat can arrive in Darwin Harbour and we hear nothing from our government about how long that boat was there, who was on board and exactly what the government is going to do about it? How did we find out about that boat? It was because the people of Darwin could see it with their eyes—it was there, in plain sight. The government like to pretend that if they do not say something, if they do not tell people the truth, perhaps the incidents never actually occurred.

We know why the government does not want to be upfront with the Australian people or, indeed, with the parliament about these issues. It is because they know their policy is a sham, that 'operation secret boats' is nothing more than a media strategy. There is no information about what is going on in terms of boat arrivals. We know boats are not being successfully turned back. We know boats are not being bought from Indonesia because the Indonesians would not have it. Despite the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection being asked about that in the chamber, in the other place, only two hours after saying he could not answer because it was an operational matter we then had the chief of this entire military led response, the lieutenant-general—because isn't it good to send out the military when you are dealing with poor refugees on rickety wooden boats—saying, 'No, we haven't bought any boats because Indonesia doesn't want us to.' This is the pathetic nature of this government in relation to being upfront with the Australian people and respectful of the parliament's right to scrutinise government policy.

I know that the reason this minister does not want to talk about these things is because, deep down inside, they are ashamed at their policies. They know they are hurting people. You cannot sit by anymore and pretend that the detention of children is not harmful, that temporary protection visas are not inhuman. You cannot pretend that being cruel and selfish is going to make refugees who are fleeing war and persecution any safer.

We know the facts. We have been here before. Under John Howard's government, people were consistently held in wrongful detention. Children's lives were destroyed. And here we have it happening all over again, and yet we have a government so desperate to cover up, so desperate not to tell the Australian people what is going on, that they prefer just to use the military and the word 'operational' to hide behind. This minister has to take responsibility for this policy and stop palming it off to the brave men and women in our armed forces, who should be left to do their jobs with dignity and with respect because they know that turning back boats on the high seas is not just unsafe, dangerous and risky; it is also in breach of Australia's obligations when it comes to the laws of the sea.

This government's policy is a total sham. The only reason this minister does not want us talking about this today is that the government is scared as hell that the truth is going to get out. (Time expired)