John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I speak today of a young man and of the cruelty to which he has been subjected; I speak today of genocide and of how this government is complicit; and I speak today of how Australia is now lining up alongside Russia, China and Cuba to actively undermine a push for an international inquiry into human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. I will call this young man David. I have met with him on numerous occasions. I have spoken to him at length. I have examined his medical records. He is, in my opinion, a believable and credible witness.

David—as I said, not his real name—is a Tamil asylum seeker currently in community detention in Australia. Earlier this year, he was undertaking some duties at the house of his host family in Australia when he knocked his elbow. A short time later, his arm blew up in a way that was disproportionate to the injury. At the local hospital, X-rays revealed 17 metal pins sitting in the muscle of his arm. This man had 17 metal pins sitting below the flesh, buried in the muscle of his arm. These pins had been inserted and left there during a period of systematic torture from 2009 to 2012. I have seen David's X-rays. The images are confronting. But they only tell part of the story.

What have I to say next is, by its nature, both graphic and disturbing. An Australian doctor's report from last year confirms 11 healed marks on David's scrotum. According to this report, these marks are consistent with cigarette burns. A report from the same clinic confirmed that Australian doctors removed wooden and plastic items from David's rectum, as well as pieces of wire. David has told me how during torture in Sri Lanka a metal tube was inserted into his anus that then had wire fed into it. For a period of 10 months, David says, he was detained, interrogated about his family, drugged and repeatedly raped. He says he suffered repeated and ongoing sexual torture for a period of three years.

As a result, he has lost a high percentage of his hearing ability and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. I have read the Australian doctor's report that details his catastrophic injuries. Another report by an Australian consulting psychiatrist says David suffers recurring distressing dreams and disturbed sleep, intrusive recollections of his trauma, severe dissociative episodes, poor memory and reduced concentration. During one meeting I had with David, he lowered his trousers to show me a series of round marks on his upper thigh—a snail trail of scars left by cigarette burns. David tells me that as recently as last October, Sri Lankan authorities visited his parents and threatened them with violence and death if he spoke out.

Sri Lankan authorities closely monitor what is happening here in Australia. David's father has been tortured and other family members have been threatened. And our Prime Minister, Mr Abbott, recently dismissed torture by the Sri Lankan government. Mr Abbott was reported as saying that in difficult circumstances difficult things sometimes happen. When visiting Sri Lanka last year, Mr Abbott declined to follow the lead set by Britain and Canada and raise concerns about human rights violations: 'I don't propose to lecture Sri Lankans on human rights,' he was reported as saying. I ask: why not, Prime Minister? Why do you stand mute in the face of torture? The answer, of course, is clear.

Australia is now a globally infamous human rights abuser; we are possibly seeing that on Manus Island and elsewhere. Our government is pursuing a policy of 'stop the boats' at all costs. And we are prepared to stand alongside countries with appalling human rights records—China, Russia and Cuba—to support the Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka. As reported last week in the Fairfax press, diplomats preparing for the United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva this month have expressed concern that Australia is working to 'actively undermine' a push for an international inquiry into human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. Diplomats believe this is because of the Australian government's eagerness to cooperate with Sri Lanka's leaders on asylum seekers.

Prime Minister Abbott announced in November that the government would give Sri Lanka two Bay-class patrol boats, at a cost of $2 million, to help the country stem the flow of asylum seekers to Australia. That was part of a wider agreement between the countries that has led to the Sri Lankan navy, with Australia's help, intercepting and returning boats trying to depart the Sri Lankan coast. Well-placed sources involved in the preparations for the UN meeting have said there is 'deep concern' among United States and British officials at Australia's position, according to Fairfax.

There have been reports that the US could call for an international investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the dying days of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009. It is thought that between 40,000 and 70,000 civilians lost their lives in the final phase of the war, particularly as government forces advanced on the Tamil Tigers in the country's north. And the reports we are getting now are very clear. The Rajapaksa regime continues its reign of terror and torture and human rights violations. As recently as last month, Amnesty International said the climate of fear and harassment in Sri Lanka continues to be very real.

And the ramifications for Australia? The war against humanity in Sri Lanka and its current oppressive human rights regime means that country has the ability to flood Australia with asylum seekers. The Rajapaksa regime can turn on or turn off the tap when it comes to asylum seekers. In fact, there have been some reports that the biggest people smugglers in Sri Lanka are in fact part of the President's family. Our current foreign minister, Ms Bishop, speaks in the same words as our former foreign minister, Mr Carr; they have both said: 'There is no evidence of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.'

This is political opportunism. In plain English, it is called a lie. But this government was voted in on its promise of stopping the boats and it will do anything to achieve that aim. Australia continues the persecution of Tamils once they arrive on our shores—nearly 50 Tamils now face indefinite detention in Australia because ASIO has given them adverse security findings. Additionally, refugee advocates say this government is quietly running a 'screening out' process. Labelled 'economic refugees', Tamils are denied legal representation and proper protection during interviews. They are then quietly returned to Sri Lanka, with many of them facing certain torture, ongoing harassment and possible death.

The Australian public must be clear on one thing. Our international reputation as a country of fairness and compassion is being trashed by our sycophancy towards Sri Lanka. We have abrogated our responsibilities as an international citizen. We are siding with a leader who condones torture, enforced disappearances, rape and sexual violence.