Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Evans. Given reports today of yet another unlawful boat arrival into Australian waters, the 32nd such boat arrival since Labor softened our border protection laws and the fourth in little over a week, what does the government propose to do when the Christmas Island detention centre is full?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question. I understand his shadow minister in the House of Representatives asked a question about the education revolution, so obviously she is not terribly interested in immigration issues, but I appreciate Senator Scullion’s interest. Can I say, Senator Scullion, that thanks to the Howard government we have quite a lot of capacity on Christmas Island. The Howard government built, at the great expense of $400 million, a new high-security facility with an extra 800 beds. This was in addition to the facilities that were already on Christmas Island. Currently, we have a capacity on the island of 1,100 to 1,200—it depends on the configuration of groups et cetera. As I understand it, as at 15 September there were about 650 people being detained on Christmas Island under our mandatory detention policy. So there is capacity available for responding to any other arrivals.

But the senator raises a perfectly valid point, which is that one could find oneself, as the Howard government did when it had 12,000 arrivals in just over a three-year period, having difficulty finding accommodation. As I have indicated publicly on a number of occasions, we have contingency plans in place to provide some extra facility on Christmas Island and capability, as the senator knows, at the Darwin Northern Immigration Detention Centre. I think the capacity of that is 400 or so. So there are plans in place for the contingency of having to respond to further arrivals in large numbers. As any government should, we have put proper planning procedures in place.

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his answer, particularly in regard to the Darwin Northern Immigration Detention Centre. Can the minister confirm that Darwin would be the first backup for the detention of further individuals should Christmas Island become full?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is a range of contingency plans in place which deal with different scenarios. As I have said publicly, and as I have said today, one of our first options for extra capacity is the current immigration detention centre, designed for that purpose, located in Darwin—the northern detention centre. It is the case that, if one were looking for extra capacity, one would probably look to bring people who had first been assessed on Christmas Island and had done a range of checks there onto the mainland at Darwin. But, as I said, there is a range of contingency plans in place for different case loads and circumstances. I made it very clear, though, that the northern detention centre at Darwin is part of our mainland capability, as is Villawood. Those centres represent the capacity that the Howard government left this government to deal with unlawful entry persons. (Time expired)

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I thank the minister for the answer. I wonder if he can confirm that unauthorised boat arrivals that are brought to the northern detention centre on the Australian mainland will be entitled to full and immediate access to the Australian legal and social welfare system.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to that is no.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So you’re excising them.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me explain. You may have been misled by a couple of press releases Dr Stone put out which actually were factually incorrect—there is a bit of a tradition there. As I indicated to you, persons who have been processed on Christmas Island might then be brought to the mainland if there are capacity needs. They would be treated as offshore entry persons subject to the same legal regime that applied under the previous government. There has been no change to that legal regime. If you are claiming that people are entitled to social security benefits, that is not accurate in terms of their detention. But, again, the legal arrangements in place are exactly those that applied under the previous Howard government. Mandatory detention, offshore processing, excision of the islands: those arrangements are exactly the same.