Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Finance (Senator Birmingham) to a question without notice asked by Senator Hanson-Young today relating to Afghanistan.

I will throw to Senator McKim to make some comments.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] As Senator Hanson-Young said at the start of her question, the Australian Greens absolutely recognise that the situation outside the Kabul airport is extremely difficult and fluid and at times extremely dangerous, and we would like to thank both Minister Payne and Minister Hawke for their engagement with Senator Rice and me over recent days. We also want to thank officers from DFAT, from Home Affairs and from the Australian Border Force and Australian Defence Force personnel for their ongoing efforts in providing advice, in processing visas and in evacuating people from Afghanistan under what are extremely trying conditions, to say the least.

The situation in Afghanistan, with the Taliban in control of much of the country and with local forces in other parts of the country preparing armed resistance to the Taliban, is heartbreaking and terrifying. It will undoubtedly result in countless more lives lost, along with the kind of brutality against women and girls and against ethnic and religious minorities that we witnessed so horrifyingly when the Taliban were last in power.

We in Australia and the government of Australia cannot absolve ourselves from culpability for what is happening. We helped bring about the current situation by being part of a colonialist invasion, and we have a moral obligation to respond accordingly, and that means responding strongly and decisively. We should immediately announce that Australia will accept 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan in addition to our existing annual humanitarian intake. This would allow us to provide protection to far more people, to people like women and girls, to people like LGBTIQ+ people, to people like human rights advocates, journalists and artists who've been critical of the Taliban in the past, to more people who supported Australian defence and Australian consular personnel and to people from ethnic, religious and cultural minorities who've previously been persecuted by the Taliban, such as Hazara people.

Prime Minister Morrison's current offer of 3,000 places, which I note is not in addition to our existing humanitarian intake, is grossly inadequate. He has since said that it is a floor, not a ceiling. Well, if we've got a higher target, he should announce it so more people know that they can apply for these humanitarian visas and ultimately freedom and safety in Australia. Both the United Kingdom and Canada have offered to take 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan, which shows the pittance that Australia is currently offering to take. There is absolutely no reason why Australia should not match those offers and take 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan.

The government should also announce that everyone from Afghanistan who is currently in Australia on a temporary visa will receive permanent protection and be put on a pathway to Australian citizenship, and we should immediately release people from Afghanistan who are currently in immigration detention in Australia because they arrived here by boat to claim asylum. While we're at it, we should also return to Australia those who are exiled offshore in Papua New Guinea or Nauru. Those people have been in detention for more than eight years, and most of them sought our protection after fleeing Taliban brutality the last time the Taliban was in power. While we're doing that, we should release that entire cohort of people.

We know what happened the last time the Taliban seized power. It was a calamity for human rights, for religious, ethnic and cultural minorities, and for women and girls. It was absolutely brutal and horrendous, and tragically, history looks set to repeat. We cannot stand by and do less than our share. Other countries are doing more, and so should we. The government needs to step up. We can do better and we must.

Question agreed to.