Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I table documents relating to the order for the production of documents concerning border protection.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the documents.

This is a nonstatement by the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. I note that the government has once again failed to comply with an order of the Senate. This is the second time in as many weeks and, unfortunately, once again the minister has claimed public interest immunity. I remind the senator that it is all very well for the government to make a claim of public interest immunity; it is another thing for the Senate to accept that claim, because that is a matter for the Senate itself to determine. It is an extraordinary position that she has taken here today.

I observe that in the previous debate she indicated that the Labor government had failed to comply with orders to produce documents on 75 occasions. Of course, that was a gross exaggeration of the situation. In the six years of the Labor government, the government cited public interest immunity on nine occasions—that is right, nine occasions, Minister, and they were spread across all portfolios, unlike with this particular government which seems determined to hide all information it can on the issue of asylum seeker policy.

Very little is known about the incident that took place on Friday, 15 November 2013, which is the subject of this return to order, other than we understand an Australian government vessel ripped the bow out of a boat and put 40 people into the water and, as a consequence of the government's tow-back policy—

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A frequent occurrence.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

it failed dismally. An Australian Customs patrol boat had to end up rescuing the 40 people. The matter has been canvassed in a number of newspapers in Australia. A fishing boat's engine had apparently stopped 20 kilometres from Christmas Island and it is believed that the government was seeking to tow this vessel back to Indonesia. The incident occurred on a Friday night and it actually took till Sunday to get the passengers from this vessel deposited on Christmas Island, where of course the matter became public from that point on.

This may well not be the first occasion this has occurred. It reflects, to my mind, a real danger of the tow-back policy. As we have heard from across the chamber, this is not uncommon when you are towing wooden vessels. It is one of the consequences of doing these things on the high seas. But it is core government policy—this is the point. The government policy is incredibly dangerous.

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It happens to fishing vessels all the time.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government says it only does it when it is safe to do so. Clearly, that is simply not the case. It is not safe to do it because on this occasion they have actually ripped the bow out of the vessel and it has sunk.

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That sometimes happens.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So I would suggest it may well not be in the public interest at all to deny this. It may be in the government's interest—I understand that, to their way of thinking, that might be the case—but, frankly, it is not in the public interest to seek to suppress this information. It will become a public matter.

Today the Senate has established an inquiry into the claims of public interest immunity. This will be an opportunity for the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee to look at the detail of this assertion. That committee will report back to the Senate and the Senate will get its opportunity to revisit this question of the government's claims to public interest immunity on these extraordinarily important matters.

Question agreed to.