Matters of Public Importance
Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President, and we will review the Hansard to make that clear as it demonises the debate, as we know. Today we heard lots of rhetoric and very colourful language. I forgot how many times the words 'guts' and 'stomach' were mentioned in the previous contribution. I lost track after seven times.
Basically we have a debate today about the issue of detention and about the policies that this government has put in place since we were elected. They are policies that we went, very openly, to the Australian people with. It interested me that the previous contributor kept talking about the minister taking responsibility, stepping up and using his guts and stomach, but I got the impression that what that meant was having courage to come forward and talk with the Australian people about what was going on.
I do not believe there has been a minister who has had more public commentary on the issues of his portfolio over the last couple of months than Minister Bowen. Consistently he has run the line that our policy is part of an international response to the issue of refugees. One of the things that the opposition cannot understand is that our policy is looking at responding and working with refugees through the UNHRC, using the internationally accepted processes and ensuring that the law is fulfilled but most importantly that there is compassion. Senator Cash did talk about the statistics but I am not going through a statistical argument; we have had that. We know how many people have come in and how many boats have arrived. We have seen the stunning press releases that have been issued every time by the opposition. We saw the splendid imagery in recent times that was showing large red boats attacking our- We have a coalition that is determined to demonise people who have an absolute right to seek refuge. Once they seek that right, it is our law to ensure that they fulfil the aspects of refuge. It is a straightforward process. We work under international guidelines using our law to ensure that people who are claiming refuge have a right to that process. Not everybody receives that outcome, but under Australian law they receive the process.
We have had more boats coming; no-one denies that. Minister Bowen actually talks to the Australian community about that. He talks about the numbers. In fact there have been great efforts made in the last six months to ensure that we work with community organisations in Australia so that children who have been unfortunately caught up in this process by travelling on boats with parents, or most sadly alone, have protection while they are in our country. Through that whole process the core principles of law are retained and that has caused delays; we acknowledge that. That is one of the worst aspects of dealing closely with the law in the refugee process. We have to ensure that our security is maintained and that has been the guiding principle at work in our government law.
However, we have always felt that there needs to be a balance. The previous government's process did not feature a balance. The temporary protection visa process seems to be the hallmark now of all the arguments being put forward by the opposition-a magic imposition of temporary protection visas will automatically stop boats. It is not such a straightforward equation, though it is a pretty good logo and it has been used consistently in media releases by various spokespeople from the opposition.
We have to understand the international situation, something which people on the other side reject consistently. They have a limited understanding of history and selectively pull out dates and times when there were periods of migration and refugee boats coming to Australia and when there were not. They do not take into account what is happening in our region. They do not take into account what was happening in Afghanistan. They do not take into account what is happening in Sri Lanka. They do not take into account any of the features that force people to make the desperate decision to throw themselves on our mercy by seeking refugee status. It is not an easy decision.
Somehow we seem to be able in these debates to differentiate between numbers and boats and people. I cannot do that. Our government does not do that. It accepts its responsibilities and understands that the numbers are all people and they must be treated with the full respect of the law. They must understand their rights through that process and there must be a clear understanding by all involved of what is in the law, what the objects of the legislation are and what the outcome will be if they are judged to be refugees under the UNHCR guidelines or if they are not. If they are not, there are processes for returning them to their home country. That is clear. The minister explains it consistently in the media, but if you have a political agenda and you are determined to demonise people who are in that situation, of course you are going to have the kind of conflict and outrage that we have heard and will continue to hear from the other side.
Certainly it is important that this argument is understood in the community. Minister Bowen is taking up that argument in the media and also in the community through community organisations, local meetings in townships and with different people who need to know exactly how the system works. If you only take the grabs in the media that we have now, the vision that is being put out for political purposes, the people of Australia will not understand the issues around refugee status.
We need as a community to ask the questions. We need to meet with the people who are in this situation as much as we can. Once you meet with people who have gone through the refugee process and talk with them, those statistics take on a human form and you can understand the background to their decision, the processes they have undertaken to seek a better life, how they have fulfilled the requirements of the UNHCR to determine that they are genuinely in a refugee situation and how they have fulfilled the requirements of the Australian government. Minister Bowen has made those requirements clear. People have to pass health checks to ensure that they are healthy. People have to pass security checks to verify their true identity and to ensure they do not offer a security risk to our country.
Instead of all the yelling and all the talking about keeping our borders safe, look at the situation and look at the people who are involved. See those who have made the decision, through horrific situations in their home countries and their family areas, to actually get on the boats. Funnily enough, we always focus on the people who are on the boats. These discussions never look at the statistics and see the number of people who come into our country without the appropriate visas and approvals who have not been on the boats and identified as asylum seekers. All the debate, all the anger, all the discussion about guts and stomach seems to focus around those people who are on boats. They need to understand how the system works. Certainly that is a responsibility for our government, but not our government alone. The Australian government is proud of the role it takes in the international community working with other countries who are facing these issues about the flow of people who are seeking refugee status in their own lands. We need to work collectively in an international way to get the best possible practice, to ensure that the whole debate does not get derailed by emotion or by political rhetoric, and to understand the true definition of someone who is seeking refugee status and the responsibilities of responsible nations to accept their status. We need to have strong policies that reflect UN best practice and treat people with respect but always with full regard for the law.
