Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I want to start by indicating that the government takes this issue very seriously. That is why we have a very balanced approach to people-smuggling: tough on people smugglers, humane on asylum seekers. In relation to the MPI led by the opposition leader today, the chaos to which it refers can only be the chaos that exists within the opposition. There is a variety of positions taken by the members of the opposition in relation to this matter. We are aware that the members for Kooyong, Pearce and McMillan have taken a principled position in relation to a number of issues, and that is why they strongly supported the government’s view on the abolition of the temporary protection visa. We are also aware that the member for Murray originally supported all of the changes that took place as a result of the government’s initiatives in this area, but it seems now she has a different view. The member for Farrer put out a media release on 14 October headed ‘Australia’s borders: Open all hours’ and was forced to retract it. That is the situation that exists in the opposition. Differing positions, putting out policy initiatives, having them forcibly retracted—no doubt by the Leader of the Opposition, who has not one position but a complicated, complex, confused position in relation to this very important area of public policy.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition has had all sorts of views on this matter. In 2001—the Prime Minister referred to this in question time—she argued strenuously for a solution, an ‘agreement’ as she put it, with Indonesia. She said, ‘It is vital there is an agreement with Indonesia.’ Mr Speaker, that is exactly what the government has been embarking upon: ensuring that we have regional cooperation on these regional and global challenges. This is a very challenging issue, as most respected commentators are well aware, and therefore we have to ensure we take a balanced approach to these issues.

It is also important for the opposition to fully comprehend their position when they seek to perpetrate myths that this is about factors to do with domestic policy. There is no doubt every independent commentator in this area understands that, as a result of the conflicts in the region, as a result of the conflicts in Afghanistan, as a result of the civil war that has just ended in Sri Lanka, there has been a significant increase in unlawful maritime arrivals. Those people are seeking a haven not only in Australia but also in other First World countries. The evidence is clear. It is empirical evidence and for the opposition to pretend otherwise suggests they are looking to score political points rather than developing a policy on this area. The evidence is clear by the comments made by the United Nations Secretary-General, when he indicated to the Security Council that 2008 was the most violent year in Afghanistan for many years. The evidence is clear also, as a result of the hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Sri Lanka as a result of the civil war, that there was going to be an increase in the number of people seeking haven. Most of them seek haven in Europe and other parts of the world, but a significant and increasing number have sought asylum in Australia. Those are the primary reasons for the increase in people seeking to enter our waters, seeking to come to our country.

There are two other compelling facts that should be underlined to substantiate the view of the government that this is primarily as a result of push factors. One is the change that occurred in 1998. There was a massive increase in unlawful maritime arrivals between 1998 and 1999, but there was no change to domestic policy and no change of government. There were 200 unlawful maritime arrivals in 1998, and they went from 200 to 3,721 in one year without one change to domestic policy in this country. Why was there a twentyfold increase in unlawful maritime arrivals in that year without any changes to domestic policy, without any change of government? Because of the push factors. You can be assured of this: the then government was not arguing that they were pull factors. No change had occurred to domestic policy in that year, yet there was almost a twentyfold increase in unlawful maritime arrivals.

The other compelling evidence to demythologise the views of the opposition is the Christmas Island detention centre. The Christmas Island detention centre was commissioned for construction after 2001. It was constructed very recently—as late as 2007, and some would argue that it was not operating until beyond that point. If the opposition had managed, as they now seek to argue, to prevent unlawful maritime arrivals after 2001, why did they spend $405 million to construct a purpose-built detention centre on Christmas Island? They built that detention centre because they knew then what they genuinely know now: from time to time, there are increases in the numbers of people seeking haven as a result of conflicts around the world. People sometimes seek haven in Australia when there are conflicts within our region. That is the compelling evidence. The actions of the previous government underline the assertions of the current government that these are primary factors that are external to conduct by our government or this country.

As the foreign minister made clear, upon election we wanted to build upon the previous government’s efforts in maritime and aerial surveillance. For that reason, we have dedicated $654 million to ensuring greater aerial and maritime surveillance of our waters. We are focused on maintaining the integrity of our borders and the integrity of the immigration system, and that is why we have dedicated more resources. We have also dedicated more resources in source and transit countries. More resources are being provided in Indonesia, and we are working very closely with the Indonesian National Police, along with our friends and counterpart agencies in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other countries within the region, to prevent people being enticed by organised syndicates into endangering their lives by getting on dangerous vessels and undertaking perilous journeys to come to this country.

As I said, we have dedicated more resources to working with our counterparts in Indonesia and other countries. That is why we have been successful, as the foreign minister made clear, in disrupting more than 80 ventures on land, and the Indonesian authorities have intercepted a vessel in their own waters. That has sent a very important message to organised syndicates who would seek to rob people of their life savings and entice them to undertake perilous journeys on dangerous and unseaworthy vessels. That is exactly what we should be doing—continuing to work with our friends within the region and doing everything we can to dismantle organised syndicates. As a result of the efforts of the AFP, the Indonesian National Police and others, 53 people have been charged for people-smuggling and 15 prosecutions have occurred in the last year. This is evidence that these efforts are working. But we have to continue to do as much as we possibly can to target organised syndicates, working with the International Organisation for Migration and the UNHCR on a proper process to provide people with a genuine capacity to seek asylum.

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