Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too thank the member for Gellibrand for putting this motion forward. It is important to recognise the 40-year anniversary of the arrival of the first Vietnamese refugees in Australia in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. In doing so, we should not sugar coat the events of history. The facts are that the previous Labor government's initial reaction to those events and initial reaction to getting those Vietnamese refugees in Australia is one of the dark stains of our history.

There was a 1976 report by the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, entitled Australia and the refugee problem. This committee had members from both the Labor Party and the Liberal Party. It concluded unanimously that, during the final invasion of Saigon in 1975, the Whitlam government had knowingly abandoned South Vietnamese people who were known to be in danger because of their previous association with Australian forces or for other reasons. The standing committee in fact found that during the final communist offensive, the Whitlam government had told the Australian embassy in Saigon to help only a token number of those South Vietnamese whose lives might be endangered. It put such obstacles in the way of the embassy that such evacuations, in many ways, were almost impossible.

It was a disappointing part of our history. Clyde Cameron, in his memoir China, Communism and Coca-Cola, threw a light on the previous government attitude. He noted in that publication:

Whitlam put out an injunction of the processing of all applications from Vietnam. He had no constitutional right to assume the powers which had been commissioned to me by the Governor-General. … on April 21, Don Willesee came to see me with a request that I accompany him to Whitlam's office before Whitlam left … for Jamaica … He wanted Whitlam to recognise the realities of war and ease the restrictions applicable to other migrants [from South Vietnam]. Whitlam refused and I supported him, saying I saw no reason why we should risk opening our doors to war criminals. But Willesee argued that this was not the proposition he was putting and stubbornly refused to budge in his fight for what he regarded as a humane approach. Finally, Whitlam stuck out his jaw and thundered: "I'm not having hundreds of … Vietnamese Balts coming into this country with their religious and political hatreds against us!" Poor Don looked pleadingly towards me for help but I replied: "No Don, I'm sorry mate, but I agree with Gough on this matter." Indeed, not only did I agree with him, but I could have hugged him for putting my own view so well.

Following the publication of that joint committee report, there was an editorial in The Sydney Morning Herald on 28 April 1975. I will quote that editorial:

Very many Australians must be deeply angry and ashamed about the callousness of our government's scuttle from Saigon and its abandonment—betrayal is not too strong—of hundreds of Vietnamese entitled to expect our assistance to flee the fate awaiting the marked-down enemies of Hanoi.

The committee concluded that the government's failure to rescue more Vietnamese had not been caused by incompetence but had been deliberate:

"We believe that by being in Vietnam Australia incurred a residual responsibility, not to mention a moral responsibility, to assist in the evacuation from Vietnam of those who had assisted our forces there and whose lives were believed to be in danger because of that assistance … in view of the Committee's belief that the Australian Government had been informed of the gravity and magnitude of the situation in South Vietnam some three weeks before the evacuation of the Australian Embassy, we are unable to come to any conclusion other than one of deliberate delay in order to minimise the number of refugees."

Thankfully for this country, Malcolm Fraser had the foresight to go in the other direction and to welcome those Vietnamese refugees to our country. What a valuable contribution they have made. I see that in my area and I see that in the areas of Liverpool and Cabramatta and throughout south-west Sydney.

The Vietnamese community have been so successful for a few reasons. Firstly, they are an entrepreneurial community. They believe in small business, hard work, getting in and having a go. Secondly, they believe in family. All of those in the Vietnamese community I know have strong family ties and a strong family as a support unit. Thirdly, there is education. The Vietnamese community have made a great contribution to our society. We should welcome them and admit our mistakes of the past.

Debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 13:35 to 16:01

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