Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Carr. I refer the minister to the Curtin detention centre, near Derby in Western Australia, the complete lack of any consultation with that community and the failure of the government to address their concerns on the number of asylum seekers to be housed on the base. I ask the minister: why does the government continue to deny that there are plans for a further expansion of that centre to lift the capacity to house 3,000 asylum seekers, when construction work on stage 3 at Curtin is already well advanced?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question. Senator Back, I am not certain whether you were present throughout the hearing of the estimates committee that dealt with this issue at some considerable length. Let me refresh your memory as to the content of that conversation. Plans with regard to Curtin involve capital expenditure of a total of $137.9 million over two years. Those plans were outlined in the budget papers in May 2010.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship started letting contracts for the supply and installation of demountable buildings, installation of fencing and security systems and critical infrastructure work required to support 600 people in stage 1, and the assessment of existing facilities started on 27 April 2010 to determine what work was needed. The first contract for stage 1 was entered into in May 2010. The second contract was entered into on 2 September 2010 and was published in AusTender on 22 October 2010. The funding for that project was part of the original funding announced in May 2010. There is no plan for a stage 3, as you have asserted. This was argued out in full at the Senate estimates committee.

In the past, the department has been criticised for not being prepared for eventualities. That, of course, is not the situation in this case. The preparatory works for stage 2 which were carried out included the greater area in case there was a need in the future.

Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister then explain to the Senate why, in advance of a visit to the facility only two weeks ago by the shadow minister and shadow parliamentary secretary for immigration, the department supervisor on site instructed workers to cease their stage 3 works and commence to fill in trenches containing underground pipes and conduits in the stage 3 area?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, these issues were canvassed at length in the Senate estimates hearing.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You deliberately misled people.

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

Senator Cormann!

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You should withdraw it, Cormann.

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

If people were not interjecting, I may well hear some of these things. Senator Carr, continue.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I repeat: as was argued out in Senate estimates in some considerable detail, no contracts have ever been entered into for the installation of buildings in stage 3. In July 2010 the department engaged an architect to develop a master plan that gave the department the options if required, but there were no contracts entered into.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You should read the brief before you say it out loud.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Abetz, you may well—

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

Order! Senator Carr, ignore the interjections. Interjections, as Senator Abetz knows, are disorderly. Senator Carr, you have got eight seconds remaining to answer the question.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The plans for the expansion of Curtin have been detailed at length through—(Time expired)

Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Three days before the federal election, a whistleblower called a Perth radio station to confirm that he was working on the construction of single quarters for the Curtin detention centre to increase its accommodation to 3,000 people. He said, ‘We were told not to say anything until after the federal election.’ Will the minister now confirm what is commonly known in WA—that is, that the Curtin base is to be expanded to accommodate 3,000 asylum seekers?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There has never been any plan or any consideration with respect to expanding the Curtin facility to 3,000 people. There was a time in the Liberal Party when there were actually liberals representing that party. Only recently Senator Troeth made public statements about the insidious attempt to engender fear and loathing in this country regarding what are quite serious issues. Senator Boyce, of course, has made similar views known, as did Senator Trood, Senator Humphries and Senator Payne. What are we hearing now? We are hearing this savage reaction from the most extreme elements of the Liberal Party in an attempt to engender fear and hatred in the community, based entirely on a lie.