Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia takes its international obligations seriously and provides protection to refugees consistent with these obligations. We are usually ranked amongst the top three countries globally with long-established annual resettlement programs. We have a proud history of resettling people. Since World War II, we have welcomed over 7.5 million migrants to Australia, including over 850,000 under our humanitarian program. We have committed to increasing this program from 13,750 places up to 18,750 places per annum by 2018-19, making this intake the largest in more than 30 years.

As a former minister responsible for settlement services, I say that we rank amongst the best in the world. The coalition has implemented tough border protection measures through Operation Sovereign Borders, under which anyone who comes to Australia illegally by boat, without a visa, will not be settled in Australia. There are two outcomes for people who travel illegally: they will be intercepted and safely removed from our waters or be sent to another country for regional processing. Processing and resettlement in Australia will never be an option. There has been a very substantial and sustained reduction in maritime ventures and potential illegal immigration attempting to reach Australia.

We must not forget that the only reason anyone is on Manus Island or Nauru is that Labor lost control of our borders. Let's not forget what happened during the Labor-Greens alliance years. There were 50,000 people who arrived on over 800 boats. There were 1,200 deaths at sea, and these are the ones we know of. There is nothing compassionate about a policy that led to so many deaths at sea. Over 8,000 illegal maritime arrival children were detained. At the height of Labor's policy failure, in July 2013, there were over 10,000 people in detention, including almost 2,000 children. Labor was forced to open 17 detention centres to deal with the influx, and there was a $16 billion border protection budget blowout. Indeed, during the Gillard government, three-quarters of a billion dollars was diverted from our aid budget to pay for Labor's border protection blowouts, and this made the Gillard government the third-largest recipient of its own overseas development program.

Under Operation Sovereign Borders, we have taken back control of our borders from the people smugglers. We are proud of our record: there have been no deaths at sea, we have closed 17 detention centres and we have removed all children from detention. As I have indicated, we not only increased the humanitarian program but also provided generous humanitarian response after the Syrian crisis, through an additional intake of 12,000 refugees. I've met many of these people from religious minorities. They are very grateful to have come to Australia under our programs. We've also announced a resettlement arrangement with the United States. Our program is about defeating people smugglers, who manipulate vulnerable men, women and children into risking their lives at sea, and it has acted as a very significant deterrent because it has denied the people smugglers a product to sell.

This MPI demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Greens. Before the last election, Labor, yet again, teamed up with the Greens to give the green light to people smugglers. They were waiting for a change of government. Of course, they've been extremely disappointed. Remember Kevin Rudd's promises in 2007? 'I'll turn back the boats.' The moment he became Prime Minister, the opposite happened. The people smugglers were back in business and 1,200 people died at sea. And that's exactly what would have happened if Labor had won the election.

In relation to Manus, we have significantly reduced the number of people Labor put on Manus and now we are pushing to get it as close to zero as we can. The Australian and PNG governments are committed to ensuring services are in place to support the health, welfare and safety of the transferees in PNG.

I'd like to reflect on some of the very negative aspersions that those opposite have made about Nauru. As Minister for International Development and the Pacific, I had the opportunity to visit Nauru. First of all, there is ample medical staff on Nauru. Every child who requires specialised medical treatment is getting it and has been transferred without compromising security. We have been doing this in a quiet and appropriate manner. Nauru's people are warm, friendly and hospitable, so I find the description by those opposite contemptible and offensive. Nauru has a population of about 12,000 people, including about 1,000 asylum seekers and refugees.

I visited and toured Nauru Secondary School and the adjacent learning village. There are about 10 schools on Nauru and over 3,000 students. Education is compulsory and it begins in preschool. There's also a centre for disabled children and youth of all ages. The government manages all the schools, and all children on Nauru, irrespective of whether they're Nauruan or non-Nauruan, attend school. We contributed to the construction of buildings at Nauru Secondary School, which opened in March 2010. Since then, with our support, the education system has contributed to increased enrolments, more qualified teachers and the introduction of a new national curriculum, which enables graduating secondary students to receive a Queensland Certificate of Education. The school's been refurbished, and there's been the construction of other facilities. We have contributed to the learning village, incorporating all higher education agencies in a single, disability-friendly area, including the University of the South Pacific, a technical and vocational education and training centre, and a community library.

I also visited the Nauru Lifeguard Service, which is supported by lifesaving groups in Australia. It was great to meet many of the local lifesavers. The lifeguard service is now part of Nauru's national emergency services, and it employs both Nauruans and refugee residents as staff. I spoke to local Nauruan businesspeople including expats. The local bank manager told me that there were about 8,000 bank accounts, including hundreds from the refugee cohort.

I visited the hospital. Following the fire there in August 2013, we have contributed funding to phases 1 and 2 of the hospital redevelopment projects. Many new facilities have been included, including new medical and surgical wings, X-ray machines, CT scanners, a paediatric ward, a pathology lab, water storage facilities, sewerage treatment and backup power. These facilities are comparable to services I have seen in Sydney. I visited the Nauru community resource centre, an Australian funded project in partnership with the Nauru Department of Multicultural Affairs, which provides assistance to local and refugee communities. They provide case management services to refugees in Nauru.

I recall a conversation with a young woman who wanted to come to Australia. I told her that it would not be possible. She told me that people in Australia had told her to wait for a change. That's code for: wait for a change of government. It is clear that advocates from Australia, hell-bent on their own publicity, are giving people false hope—creating the impression that things can change and giving young people false hope. You are the ones that are creating the angst. You are the ones who are playing with lives and holding out hope for these people. You are the ones distorting the facts and creating mental angst for your own base political purposes.

What does not emerge is that many in the refugee community have started little businesses. For example, there is the young man from Iran who started a restaurant from his home. It's now become a very popular place to eat and meet. There are the Iranian ladies who have started nail and beauty businesses which provide new services on Nauru. I've met many local Nauruans and their families on the island who are now well settled. As I drove around the island, I saw for myself the housing that had been provided for the refugee community—some of better standard than that of local Nauruans.

Those opposite often portray children behind wire fences. One of the biggest problems in Nauru is that, with the introduction of aggressive strains of dogs into the dog population, many more dog attacks have resulted. Therefore, fences are vital to protection. All of this highlights the lies that those opposite have perpetrated, describing Nauru as a hellhole. It's wrong, and it didn't surprise me to see that article in The Australian in November 2018 entitled 'Refugees pick Nauru over US'. We are one of the most culturally diverse countries, and we dictate who comes to Australia.