John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today, we discuss the government's policy to process asylum seekers on Manus Island. The bad idea of processing asylum seekers on Manus Island was the brainchild of one of the previous ALP governments. The new, coalition government, however, has taken to this policy like a duck to water and has done very little in attempting to advance the wellbeing of those who are held in detention.

The precise circumstances which led to the sad death of Mr Reza Barati may not be known at this time by the government, but what is known is that Mr Barati's death took place in an atmosphere of anguish and perpetual suffering for over a thousand asylum seekers in offshore detention and, to a lesser extent, in onshore detention.

The issues surrounding Manus Island are too numerous to mention in this debate. However, recent reports state that there has been limited drinking water for asylum seekers, with some figures suggesting that people have had to get by on as little as two cups of water per day. Taking into consideration the environmental conditions, this is completely unacceptable, if it is true.

Amnesty International reported last year that men would often have to wait in queues for up to five hours in order to access food or toilets. However, what many find most astounding is that these people—people who have done nothing wrong other than seek asylum, people who just want peace and stability for them and their families—are being detained without even being given a sentence. They do not even know how long they will be there—weeks, months or years.

Earlier today, I put forward a motion calling on the government to work more closely with Indonesia to stop people attempting the treacherous journey to Australia by boat. I am not against people seeking asylum; I simply want them to act safely and proportionately to the circumstances in which they find themselves. There are currently thousands of asylum seekers in Indonesia, and many of them are there due to previous Australian and Indonesian government policies. We need to step up to the plate now and be fair. We need to take on board more of those people already in our region who are seeking asylum and help them get their lives on track within Australia.

And that leads me to my last point. The last point that I called on the government to adhere to in my motion this afternoon, which was supported by the Greens, was that we should be processing people here. The Abbott government is telling us all to live within our means. Well, it was made very clear at Senate estimates last week, that it would be much cheaper for asylum seekers to be processed onshore and in community detention than the way we are currently doing things.

We need to start being sensible about the issue of asylum seekers. We must act in a balanced, dignified, safe and compassionate manner. We must ensure that we take some responsibility for the wrongs committed by the global community of which we are part. I acknowledge Senator Back's comments that there are people offshore in camps, who have been there for decades—maybe like the Karen people on the Thai-Burma border. What are we doing to bring them here?