Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Evans. Minister, I refer to the answer given by Mr Metcalfe, the secretary of your department, at Senate estimates on 20 October that an asylum seeker who is transferred from Christmas Island to Australia after processing has commenced but is not completed will ‘remain an excised person’. With the overcrowding and increased tensions on Christmas Island, is the government now planning to increasingly use this procedure early on in the processing period as a way of fast-tracking people from Christmas Island and into mainland detention facilities?

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 her question. I was relying on Senator Abetz to say, ‘Yes or no? Yes or no?’ and I was going to say ‘no’ and sit down, but I indicate—

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

Order! Just answer the question, Senator Evans.

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

to the senator that the answer is no. What we have indicated is that we will continue to process unauthorised offshore arrivals on Christmas Island in accordance with the policy we took to the last election. The previous government built a large detention centre at Christmas Island as its major investment in detention facilities in this country. It unfortunately did not upgrade Villawood, which is in a very poor condition, and I was pleased to see the committee report to that effect that was tabled yesterday. It is our policy and our commitment to process unauthorised boat arrivals on Christmas Island. They are mandatorily detained. They receive health, identity and security checks, and if they seek asylum, those asylum claims are assessed. There are no plans to alter that process. I have made it very clear publicly that that is the case.

The claims of overcrowding on Christmas Island are exaggerated. We have continued spare capacity on Christmas Island, and I have also made public the contingency plans we put in place to expand capacity on Christmas Island, including the transportation of accommodation dongas that were previously allocated to FaHCSIA to Christmas Island. I am not sure whether they have arrived yet, but they were certainly due to arrive around now. They will be erected and will add to the capacity. I am confident that we are able to continue to process people on Christmas Island as has been our stated policy, and there are no plans to change that policy.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given the indications of expansion at Christmas Island which we heard at the last estimates, Minister, what is the current detention capacity of Christmas Island? Can the minister rule out transferring asylum seekers to mainland Australia if this capacity is exceeded?

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

The opposition have been trying to work up a scare campaign about this for a couple of days now. I have just tried to make it very clear to them that we have capacity on Christmas Island and we have initiated plans to expand the capacity. Current capacity is about 1,400 but that is flexible because it depends in part on the types of groups that arrive: whether they are women and children, because they are accommodated separately—those sorts of issues. But currently the figure is about 1,400. We have a range of contingencies, which I have discussed publicly and in this chamber and have answered questions on, that will be applied if need be. I have also said publicly that we could use the Northern Immigration Detention Centre in Darwin for final stage processes if we needed to. But our first preference is to use Christmas Island, and we have invested in additional capacity there. That is all on the public record. It has been on the public record for months.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the government’s new fast-tracking processes make it easier for people smugglers to sell the promise of permanent residency to asylum seekers, given the shorter period of time they are likely to spend on Christmas Island before shifting to the Australian mainland? Does the fast-tracking from Christmas Island to Australia amount to yet another indication that the Rudd government is soft on border protection?

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

The senator asked me two questions. I flatly denied the assertions she made in them and referred her to previous comments that both I and the Prime Minister had made. The second supplementary was based on the premise that I had agreed with her original propositions, which I have not and which are not true. So, Senator, this argument about fast-tracking people to the mainland when I have said we are not doing it is clearly a question based on a false premise. We are implementing Labor policy, which is the same policy that the previous government employed in terms of mandatory detention and offshore processing on Christmas Island. Those measures are in place. They will continue to be applied. I have made comments about contingency plans on a number of occasions, which the senator is well aware of. There is no fast-tracking being applied on the mainland, and it is just another Liberal scare campaign.