Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is fitting that we are debating the Migration Legislation Amendment (Regional Processing Cohort) Bill 2016 on the day that it looks very likely Donald Trump will be elected President of the United States on a campaign of bigotry and on a campaign of demonising minorities and of making—

Mr Keenan interjecting—

Well, it is a statement of fact. It is a statement of fact—to be demonising minorities as a way of putting blame on a group of people in running on a campaign of populism around closing borders. So it is very symbolic that we are debating this bill on that day because this bill is based on bigotry. This bill is based on this government and the Liberal and National parties' appalling record of politicising the refugee debate in an attempt to wring electoral advantage. That is all this is. Strip away all the rhetoric from the other side and from the minister, and all the thin veneer of policy responses, and this is a naked, cynical political attempt to wrest political advantage from the human misery of those in Manus Island and Nauru at this moment.

This government has appalling form on this. The parties that form this government broke the bipartisan compact that had existed for over 20 years between the major political parties of support for genuine refugees in this country. They broke that compact in 2001 with the Tampa crisis and the kids overboard affair. Not only did they demonise asylum seekers—who were found to be genuine refugees, might I add—but they politicised the Defence Force and they lied. Let us be frank about that: they lied.

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