Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Scullin regarding Save the Children Australia. I would also like to acknowledge the comments made by the previous speaker, the member for Herbert. I too had the opportunity to be part of a Save the Children Delegation earlier this year, to Cambodia, and I agree that the work they are doing in these countries is remarkable. That is why it is disappointing that more government MPs have not called on their minister and their Prime Minister to apologise for what has happened to Save the Children. It also needs to be noted that the government dumped this report on the media at 5 pm on the Friday before the CEO of Save the Children was due to join the delegation I just referenced. So, the government had the report for well over six months and dumped it to the media knowing full well that Save the Children would struggle to respond because they were leading a delegation of MPs and senators to Cambodia to explain and to share the experiences of Australian aid and what it is doing in Cambodia.

You cannot help but think of the cynical nature of this government when it comes not only to the treatment of asylum seekers but to the treatment of aid agencies that are in partnership with the government to ensure that the most vulnerable of people are supported. Save the Children at the time welcomed the independent findings of the Doogan report and said in its press release that it looks forward to entering into negotiations with the Australian government which should see appropriate compensation awarded to its former employees. Is that the reason the government has been so silent? Again, they are attacking workers—workers doing some of the most heartbreaking and hard work: supporting people who are seeking asylum.

We all know from what Save the Children has said and from what our own Senate reports have said that this government's offshore processing facilities are having a shocking impact on the individuals who are incarcerated in these detention centres. You cannot call it anything other than incarceration and prison. Under this government, processing of asylum seekers has blown out to about 450 days. This is not offshore processing; this is offshore detention—people being imprisoned for simply claiming asylum. All Save the Children attempted to do, which was within their rights, we to expose the conditions, to speak up for people who had no voice of their own. They should be acknowledged and congratulated for that, and recognised for the important role they play in our democracy of letting the Australian people know what has been going on in these offshore detention centres. Instead, these workers were effectively sacked by this government, removed, returned and then left to basically pick up the pieces. What do you do when your entire life has been dedicated to advocating for those who are less fortunate than you? The impact that has on a worker shows how heartless this government is, not just to the asylum seekers but to the organisations doing this critical work.

It speaks volumes to the nature of this government when state premiers, churches, community groups and organisations are calling for sanctuary against this government's own policies. Let's ponder that for a moment. The Let Them Stay campaign is about people in our community calling on our government to give sanctuary to our own government's policies in the offshore detention centres. It is a sign that our democracy is not healthy when people are taking to the streets and calling for sanctuary against this government's own moves. What is going on in Nauru and Manus Island is toxic, and I support the cause that there be more open and transparent conversation about this issue. People seeking asylum deserve respect. They deserve dignity, and they deserve to know that their wishes and their cries for help are being heard.

I have a very active community in Castlemaine that regularly speak to me about their concern about people who are seeking asylum who are locked in detention centres. They have shared with me emails they have received from people who are being incarcerated. All they simply say in many of the emails is, 'We are human beings like you; we have families and feelings and have the right to live freely.' (Time expired)

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