David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy President. We are accustomed to the fact that the courtesies we offer the opposition in these debates are not reciprocated, but the death stare is above and beyond the call!

What we have here is an act of sabotage from those opposite. They may well argue that Nauru is their solution. They are entitled to do so. But they do not seek to simply do that. After having strutted the political stage last week dressed in the clothing of bipartisanship, having offered the Prime Minister all of the assistance that they could muster so that we can come to a joint solution, a bipartisan solution, around this terribly vexed question, what have we seen when the rubber hits the road? The simple answer to that is: sabotage.

The greatest fear in the breasts of those opposite is not that the Malaysian solution will fail but that it will succeed. Their greatest fear is that the boats will stop coming when the people-smuggling model is broken by the Malaysian solution. So what have those opposite constructed? They have constructed this fig leaf which is that they will only assist the government in amending the legislation insofar as it realises the policies of the coalition. We do not have this hubris in the debate. We are suggesting to the parliament that the legislation be amended so that offshore processing can be enabled. We do not seek to stipulate where that offshore processing happens.

Senator Brandis interjecting—

The simple truth of it is, Senator Brandis, that, if in the future you and your colleagues form a government, you will come to this parliament with a piece of legislation very similar, if not identical, to that being put into the House of Representatives by the Labor Party. At that moment, your cynical sabotage in these days will come to the fore.

It is simply an outrage that those opposite will only amend the legislation insofar as it forces the government's hand in Nauru. Our proposition is a far more sensible one. Over 80 per cent of people start their journey to Australia in Malaysia. That is a matter of fact. We simply propose a Malaysian solution, the detail of which is out. Your clinging to the Nauru solution is a matter for you. You can take that to the people as you please, but what you should not be allowed to do is to escape this debate on the basis that, if the Labor Party government does not do what you want it to do, then it can do nothing. On the basis of that proposition, you will not only lose the public debate; you will also lose your pretence to the moral high ground. There is no moral high ground for you in this debate. You can either make good the pledge of the Leader of the Opposition and assist the government in coming up with a piece of legislation that enables offshore processing or, alternatively, you can cling to sabotage in the face of all logic. If you cling to sabotage in the face of all logic, then you will follow the road just set out by Senator Brandis. If you say that the government can only do offshore processing if it does it where you want, how you want, when you want, if that is the arrogant proposition you insist on putting to this parliament, then it will be you that has slain offshore processing. It will be at your feet that offshore processing fails.

We have negotiated with the countries in this region and we have done so in the context of preparing a proper framework. The Bali process has been a part of that. Part of the Malaysian solution is an enhanced commitment to the humanitarian and refugee intake. We are proud of the fact—and those opposite pretend that they are too—that this country takes some 13,500 refugees. Under the proposal put forward by this government, that would increase by a further 1,000 a year. That, we think, is a fine thing. The Malaysian solution not only enhances this government's and this country's response to refugees and increases the refugee intake but also means that we are working with our regional partners on a regional solution that tackles the people-smuggling model. We are taking away the product that those in Jakarta— (Time expired)