Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to briefly participate in this debate, one that I think Australians right around the country would be disappointed that we are actually engaging in. No longer do we want to participate in a debate in Australia about demonising vulnerable people rather than focusing on the responsibilities of our government, our national and international responsibilities and laws. I believe that the Australian public have moved past the dark days of the Tampa and understand that we do have a responsibility to help people when they are in need. We know that the number of people seeking refuge around the world varies at different times, and it is quite clear that one of those times is now.

I am extremely disappointed to hear that the Prime Minister has not been able to come to a workable solution with Indonesia to ensure that the people onboard the Oceanic Viking will be guaranteed to have their claims processed fairly and safely. This ‘Indonesian solution’, as named not just by the coalition but also by the government, is really no different to the Pacific solution. It may be in a different place and we may have a different Prime Minister, but without some decent guarantees and some ground rules about how people in these situations will be treated—how quickly their applications will be processed, a guarantee that children will not be detained and a commitment to help resettle people who are found to be genuine refugees around the region, including Australia—this solution is no different to the Pacific solution.

That is one point that I would say I probably do agree with the coalition on, despite the fact that I am not quite sure exactly where all their arguments have been of late. I feel that they are in essence a little lost at sea. But, in saying that, the Prime Minister did not take the decisions that he should have last week. The Prime Minister would like us to believe that control of the situation is completely out of his hands. We know that this is an Australian ship. The Prime Minister could call this ship home to Australia any time he wanted. We called for this a week ago, and 10 days later there are still children, women, men and families on board the Oceanic Viking, circling the ocean, waiting for a safe place to land. The Prime Minister has lost control of his promise of a humane approach—that is certain as this ship endlessly circles around the ocean in the vain hope of a place to land. (Time expired)