Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

The document I wish to take note of is document No.7: Attorney-General’s Department, Australian Human Rights Commission, National Children's Commissioner, Children's rights report 2014. In speaking to this report, I note that comment is made in the report of a national inquiry into children in immigration detention. According to this report, the final report of the inquiry will be transmitted to the Attorney-General in late 2014 and will be tabled in federal parliament soon after.

I keenly await that report. I point out to the Senate that, at the time of the change of government last September, there were some 1,743 children in immigration detention—a disgraceful number. That compares with when the Labor Party took over government just six years previously. There were zero, zilch, no children in immigration detention. After the period of six years of Labor government, there were, at the close of that government, 1,743 children in detention. Since the advent of the new government, that number has been steadily and significantly scaled back. Twelve months later—officials told the Senate estimates committee just last Thursday—it is now down to 647 children in detention. So over 1,000 have been taken out of detention in the period of the coalition government.

The officials at the Senate estimates committee last Thursday were asked what their expectations and hopes were for those 647 children still in immigration detention. They said that, provided the migration and maritime powers legislation amendment resolving the asylum legacy case load bill is passed by the Senate this week—on the proviso that that bill is passed, which means that officials are given better support mechanisms to deal with the children in immigration detention—then they expected that, by June next year, there would again be no children in immigration detention, back to the Howard government era. When I asked them to quantify the 'none', they said, 'Let's say fewer than 100,' but clearly the officials hope that, provided this Senate passes that bill, within six months there will be practically no children left in immigration detention. So that is something that we can all look forward to and that I know all senators will support.

It does raise with me, though, the question of why the Human Rights Commission decided to embark upon this major inquiry that is referred to in this report that we are discussing now. One would have thought that that would have been a classic inquiry to embark upon in the days of the Labor government when the numbers were just blowing out exponentially. But, no, the Human Rights Commission did not seem to think that that was an important inquiry when the numbers were increasing dramatically. But when the government changed, the new government started to seriously address the issues and, as I said, in a little under 12 months have got over 1,000 children out of immigration detention. It seemed then that it was a curious time for the Human Rights Commission to start doing a major inquiry and one just wonders what that was all about.

Suffice it to say that due to the actions of Mr Morrison and Senator Michaelia Cash and the leadership they have shown, and the good work of the officials in that department who have had a very, very difficult time of it over the past several years—they are dedicated and committed public servants; they have had an awful job to do with all of these children arriving as illegal maritime arrivals and being placed in detention, but they have done a wonderful job—it is good to see they have got most of the children out of immigration detention. By next June they hope, and we all hope, that there will be none left. I seek leave to continue my remarks at a further date.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.