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. Yesterday in answer to my question on refugee assessment processes for the people in Tanjung Pinang detention centre, the minister said:

I highlight the fact that it is an Indonesian detention centre run by the Indonesian government. They are responsible for the persons in that detention centre, and that is true of the persons disembarked from the Oceanic Viking as well.

If this statement is correct, what deal has been done with Indonesia to provide the special treatment for those off the Oceanic Viking, as promised in the government’s letter?

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

As the senator is aware, I gave him the response to his question yesterday, and I stand by that. The reality is that people who disembark in Indonesia, on Indonesian soil, are treated according to Indonesian law and will be detained by the Indonesians. They will be detained in a centre built by the Howard government, that is true; but they will be detained by the Indonesians. They will be processed in accordance with the arrangements agreed between the Indonesian government and the Australian government. We have made clear that those arrangements were put in place and the people on the Oceanic Viking were advised of those arrangements. When they sought to know what would happen to them when they came off the boat, we advised them that these were the arrangements that were in place: arrangements agreed by the Indonesian government and the Australian government for the processing of those persons. There is no special deal in place.

I remind the senator that only two people were advocating a special deal for these people. One is the opposition spokesperson, Dr Stone, who suggested that they all should be processed on the ship. She has argued for a special deal and that they should be processed on the ship. The other proposition is by Premier Colin Barnett of Western Australia, who has asked that they have a special deal and be taken to Australia. We have said that there is no special deal. They will disembark in Indonesia in accordance with international law and the processes agreed between the two governments. We have advised them of how they will be treated and the procedures that will apply. But we have not agreed to their request to come to Australia, we have not agreed to their request to go to Christmas Island, and there has been no special deal offered. All we have done is to outline the arrangements that will apply.

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. If there has been no special deal offered, can the minister tell the Senate whether any other asylum seekers—apart from those on the Oceanic Vikingin Indonesia or in other refugee camps around the world, have been guaranteed daily visits from Australian immigration officers, assistance from Australian officials to register with the UNHCR and a guaranteed 12 weeks from registration to resettlement?

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

As I have made clear to the senator on a number of occasions—and as I have made clear to this chamber and to the Australian public in the media for a couple of weeks now—there is no special deal. When we negotiated with the Indonesians for the disembarkation of this group, we put in place arrangements for their handling. That included going to a detention centre in Indonesia and a rejection of their demands to be taken to Australia, but it also included arrangements for their processing to be dealt with by UNHCR. Those arrangements have been put in place.

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

Mr President, I raise a point of order on relevance. I asked a very specific question. Given his original answer that there was no special deal done, I asked whether or not the minister was aware if the Australian government provides—either in refugee camps around the world or, in fact, in Indonesia—daily visits from Australian immigration officers, assistance from Australian officials to register with the UNHCR and a guarantee of 12 weeks from registration to resettlement. The minister is not attempting at all to provide a very clear answer to a very clear question.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister is responding to the question. I cannot ask the minister to answer the question in a specific way. Nonetheless, the minister has 28 seconds remaining in which to continue his answer to the question.

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

Thank you, Mr President. I was just getting to the second part of the senator’s question. What I can say to him is that the arrangements for contact with Australian officials are detailed in the document that was provided to those people on the boat, and we have released that document publicly. Yesterday the opposition did not seem to have caught up with the news. It is a public document. It was tabled by the Prime Minister yesterday. The details are there. We have made it very clear what our position is. (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 will give the minister a last opportunity to admit that his offer to asylum seekers on the Oceanic Viking is in fact special treatment and that this puts at risk the UNHCR resettlement processes by encouraging queue jumping.

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

It is obvious that when you are in strife and you are not making headway you resort to the old slogans—the slogans of the past. It is just like they reverted to the policies of the past. When they were confronted with the fact that they had no policy and that they supported ours as we made adjustments to our policy and how we treated refugees, the best they could do was to try to go back to temporary protection visas, which of course had proved to be a complete failure and had done nothing to stop arrivals or to see those people returned to their country of origin. I reiterate: there is no special treatment. What we have done is encourage the UNHCR to process these people. They will be offered resettlement in accordance with UNHCR processes and resettlement will be sought— (Time expired)