Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with a great sense of sadness that I stand here today to talk about what is obviously an international situation of quite significant humanitarian impact. One of the things that you always have to do when you are a responsible government of any country is take a responsible and considered approach when you are dealing with these sorts of issues—particularly international issues and ones of the kind of magnitude which we find ourselves being confronted with today.

With in excess of four million Syrian refugees displaced from their country of birth, there is no doubt that this is a significant international issue

But we also need to be very mindful that we are dealing with not just these refugees but also the crisis that is unfolding within the countries of Syria and Iraq themselves. It was a little disappointing to listen to the emotional speech by Senator Hanson-Young that I have just been subjected to. I think it would have seemed a little more genuine perhaps if she had not used it to score political points against the Prime Minister, who I believe is taking a very considered and responsible approach to dealing with this issue that has escalated extraordinarily over the last few weeks.

The government has said today, as it has been saying over previous days, that it will take a considered approach to increasing the level of funding in humanitarian assistance. As we speak, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Mr Dutton, is overseas having discussions with the UNHCR and other agencies in relation to what the best response from Australia would be to assist the international community and others involved in this issue to try and deliver the best possible outcome for those people who find themselves in this extraordinarily unfortunate position. I believe it is difficult for any of us to understand how terrible it would be to find yourself in a situation where you had to flee your country out of fear for your safety, for the safety of your family and for your lives.

The government has been very clear that it believes that the unfolding crisis in the Mediterranean requires a further international response. We as a country were inundated by over 50,000 irregular maritime arrivals over the previous government's reign and we saw the consequences of that number of people arriving in our country, so we can understand that the number of people turning up in Europe are causing a major crisis for those countries.

We already have a significant resettlement program for Syrian refugees. The government has already set aside 2,200 of the 11,000 places, in the offshore component of the current humanitarian program, for the resettlement of Syrian refugees who have fled to their neighbouring countries, and a further 2,200 places were set aside for Iraqis. Nearly 40 per cent of the places available in the offshore component of last year's humanitarian program and 30 per cent of the overall program were set aside for Iraqi and Syrian refugees, so there is no doubt that Australia takes and will continue to take very, very seriously its responsibilities in relation to this issue.

Another thing that we have been very clear about is that vulnerable women and their dependants be able to benefit from the women at risk visa program by making sure they get priority when considering the assistance that Australia is going to offer.

Finally, it is worth noting that, since 2011, the Australian government has provided $155 million for humanitarian assistance in response to the Syrian crisis. Around half of that assistance has been delivered inside Syria, with the remainder being provided to neighbouring countries to assist the refugees and their host communities in their efforts to assist these displaced people. Things like water, food, health care, education, emergency supplies et cetera have been provided. I think a considered and responsible approach to dealing with this crisis is what is needed now.