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

My question is to the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister, Senator Abetz. This week the Prime Minister has classified the conflict in Iraq as 'dangerous' and has said that maximum violence and terror has been directed towards civilians. Last week an Iraqi asylum seeker was forcibly removed from Australia and returned to this conflict zone. Minister, who made the decision to deport this man and who made the assessment that it was safe to do so?

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

Mr President, I think we can all be agreed that the situation in Iraq is a matter of great regret and a matter of great concern. I am sure that nobody in this chamber would seek to play politics with it. In relation to individual circumstances of asylum seekers in this country and the determinations that are made, they go through the normal processes of which we are, or should be, aware in this place. Talking about individual cases I am not sure is necessarily helpful, but what I will do is take the detail of the question on notice and see if there is anything further that I can provide to the honourable senator.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his answer, and I appreciate him taking the matter on notice. Could the minister also take on notice: how many other people have been removed from Australia to Iraq in the last month, both voluntarily and by forced deportation?

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

The answer to that is yes.

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Could the minister outline for the chamber what negotiations have been occurring to ensure that those people forcibly or voluntarily removed from Australia to Iraq are being looked after in Iraq and what monitoring of their safety is happening?

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

I am happy to try to get some detail in relation to those matters, but can I suggest to the honourable senator that there might be a very substantial difference between somebody being forcibly removed and somebody being voluntarily removed. If they are voluntarily removed, it means they actually wanted to go back whence they came. I would simply refer Senator Hanson-Young to an answer provided by Senator Cash earlier this week indicating that, under our watch, more asylum seekers have voluntarily left Australia to go back to their country of origin than have sought to arrive in this country, which is something that I think we should take note of.