Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor will not be supporting this motion. The stand-off at the Manus Island processing centre could have been avoided. It happened because the Turnbull government waited until the last minute to make new arrangements in PNG. The government should have been up-front about access to essential services at the alternative accommodation, but it wasn't. The Turnbull government has been woefully incompetent in its management of offshore processing arrangements. Reports that force was used to remove asylum seekers and refugees against their will are of grave concern. Labor expressed our concerns at the time. The Prime Minister must work with the PNG authorities to ensure the safety of the refugees in their alternative accommodation. The PNG Supreme Court ruled that Australia has a moral obligation to ensure refugees have access to essential services or alternative accommodation. This includes access to food, water, security, sanitation, health care and welfare services. We have repeatedly called for the refugees on Manus and Nauru to be resettled in third countries as soon as possible.