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

I move:

That the Senate, noting the recent deportation of journalists and environmentalists from Indonesia for highlighting widespread deforestation in that country, supports the right of people to peacefully protest against climate damaging deforestation around the world and the right of journalists to cover such protests.

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 cannot support the proposed notice of motion in its current form. The Australian government again places on 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 that 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. We will not support notices of motion in the Senate unless we are completely satisfied with their content. The Australian government is aware of the recent deportation of a number of people from Indonesia. The media reports a number of reasons for these deportations, including that those involved did not have the necessary Indonesian visas or permits for protest. As no Australians were deported, the Australian and Indonesian governments have not been in contact about these events. In the absence of clear information about these events the Australian government cannot be satisfied that the reason for the deportation stated in the motion is wholly accurate. The Australian government upholds the right of people to protest peacefully and lawfully.

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

by leave—What the government executive is saying here is that the Senate should be totally ignored, that it has no right to discuss international matters and that is the prerogative of the executive which has, of course, turned the House of Representatives into a rubber stamp. What nonsense is this? If the government believes that the for and against of a motion like this and the preceding motion on Rwanda have not being adequately canvassed, then I suggest it finds private members’ time. The government will be aware that the Greens are moving to establish reasonable private members’ time to allow such matters to be debated.

The government cannot have it both ways. It cannot on the one hand block private members’ time from being properly established so that there is reasonable time for discussing such motions and on the other hand say, ‘We won’t support such motions because we haven’t had time to debate them.’ That is a total abuse of argument before a chamber which ought to be discussing just these matters. It should be not past note here that on the matter of Afghanistan, which is extraordinarily important to this nation, there has been no full debate about Australia’s involvement in that country, because the government and presumably opposition do not want such a debate. I have flagged a motion to allow that issue to be properly debated when we come back in the first session next year. Of course that should be debated in this place, and the government should make it possible for such a debate to take place. Copping out like this is no excuse.

Question negatived.

by leave—I did not call a division because I know there are other important matters that some senators want to go to, but I note that the government and opposition opposed that motion.