Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate:

(a)

congratulates the nation of Palau for giving a temporary home to six Uighur men who have been held by the United States of America (US) in Guantanamo Bay prison;

(b)

recognises that the men were cleared of all charges of war crimes and that the US acknowledges they cannot be sent back to China because of the risk of persecution;

(c)

notes the strong and vibrant Uighur community in Australia; and

(d)

calls on the Australian Government to consider the resettlement of the men in Australia.

Question put.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—This is one of those moments in which I despair. This is a generous nation with a credo of a fair go. What we know of the situation—and senators who did not see the Dateline program on SBS TV two nights ago might now refer to it—is that six Uighur men were arrested outside their country and transported for a bribe payment of $5,000 into what ended up being the prison at Guantanamo Bay. They have been found not to have any justified, verified or substantiated claims against them and have been placed on Palau, an island near Guam in the Pacific, with the agreement of the president of that little country of 20,000 people—and he seems to be a most accommodating, affable and friendly character—as they look to go somewhere to get their lives back. This motion simply asked that the Australian government consider that situation. It is a shortcoming that we cannot debate these motions in here, but I simply say this: we have a vibrant and healthy Uighur community in Australia. They would be most accepting of these innocent characters and it would be a gracious thing for us to consider their resettlement in this country. It would be a humane thing. It would be a fair thing. It would be an acknowledgement of our own humanity.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—The Australian government has indicated it could not support the proposed notice of motion in its current form. The Australian government again places on the record its objection to dealing with complex international matters, such as the one before us, by means of formal motions. Such motions are blunt instruments. They force parties into black and white choices—support or oppose. They do not lend themselves to the nuances which are so necessary in this area of policy. Furthermore, they are too easily misinterpreted by some audiences as statements of policy by the national government. The Australian government is happy to continue to work with the minor parties on notices of motion of this nature, but we will not support notices of motion in the Senate unless we are completely satisfied with their content.

This motion failed to acknowledge that the Australian government is already considering the US request to resettle Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay in Australia. In May this year the Australian government received a request from the US government to resettle in Australia 10 Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay. We have indicated that we are giving consideration to the request on a case-by-case basis in line with our immigration and national security requirements. The motion states that the six Uighur men were cleared of all charges of war crimes. I am advised that the men were in fact never charged. The US Department of Justice stated on 31 October that the six Uighurs received by Palau had been cleared for release by the prior US administration, which determined that it would no longer treat them as enemy combatants.