Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend business of the Senate notice of motion No. 2 standing in my name by omitting in paragraph (h) 'unaccompanied minor' and substituting 'irregular maritime arrivals'.

Leave granted.

I move the motion as amended:

That the following matter be referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 22 September 2011:

Australia's agreement with Malaysia in relation to asylum seekers, with particular reference to:

  (a)   the consistency of the agreement to transfer asylum seekers to Malaysia with Australia's international obligations;

  (b)   the extent to which the above agreement complies with Australian human rights standards, as defined by law;

  (c)   the practical implementation of the agreement, including:

  (i)   oversight and monitoring,

  (ii)   pre-transfer arrangements, in particular, processes for assessing the vulnerability of asylum seekers,

  (iii)   mechanisms for appeal of removal decisions,

  (iv)   access to independent legal advice and advocacy,

  (v)   implications for unaccompanied minors, in particular, whether there are any guarantees with respect to their treatment, and

  (vi)   the obligations of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Mr Bowen) as the legal guardian of any unaccompanied minors arriving in Australia, and his duty of care to protect their best interests;

  (d)   the costs associated with the agreement;

  (e)   the potential liability of parties with respect to breaches of terms of the agreement or future litigation;

  (f)   the adequacy of services and support provided to asylum seekers transferred to Malaysia, particularly with respect to access to health and education, industrial protections, accommodation and support for special needs and vulnerable groups;

  (g)   mechanisms to enable the consideration of claims for protection from Malaysia and compliance of these mechanisms with non-refoulement principles;

  (h)   a comparison of this agreement with other policy alternatives for processing irregular maritime arrivals; and

  (i)   any other related matters.

Question agreed to.