Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is a good opportunity to speak to Senator Fifield's MPI. The MPI is exactly the reason why it has been so difficult to make genuine progress in this matter. The government's decision is to work through the recommendations of the expert panel—not, as Senator Fifield has suggested, to implement the full suite of the coalition's policies. For far too long, we watched desperate people drown at sea while all sides of politics—senators and members—drew lines in the sand, dug in our toes and announced what we were not prepared to do. The intention was to be strong, but inflexibility actually weakened us and locked us into a stalemate position that, as the Prime Minister has said, has gone on long enough.

The fact is that good leaders do get things done. We want to move forward on this difficult, complex issue. We are prepared to make compromises. And that is why we welcome the advice of the expert panel and are prepared to work through their recommendations. I would like to see Senator Fifield and his colleagues take a much more positive approach—a genuinely bipartisan approach—to this problem rather than keeping us stalled in discussion over the same old ground while they all talk about adopting the old coalition policy holus-bolus. Compromise actually involves every one of us revisiting our positions—each one of us, individually.

My colleagues know that I have spoken quite passionately here about my personal preference for onshore processing. But I have to say that, in reading the Houston review and thinking about the issue again, I have come to see that the difference between onshore and offshore is simply symbolic. What really matters is the how not where the asylum seekers are being processed. If while they are being assessed and their application is being processed they are treated generously with regard to such things as freedom of movement, food, medical treatment and education, then it really does not matter if this happens on the mainland or offshore.

In deciding to establish processing centres on Nauru and PNG as a matter of urgency, we are actually signalling our willingness to move forward, to climb out of what has been a pretty awful political stalemate, and to take some action. As I said, good leaders get things done. Instead of looking backwards, as the opposition members have asked us to do, they need to be looking forward as well and working with us to implement the expert panel's recommendations.

So they can forget about the full suite of their policy. Senator Fifield can be assured that we certainly have no intention of sending boats back. As the expert panel make clear to everybody, that is not an option. It is not humane; it is unsafe—people smugglers sink the boats; and, in fact, the Indonesian government does not support it either. Senator Fifield can also be sure that we will not adopt their policy of indefinite detention in conditions that have caused so many Australians to speak out. Our intention is to establish processing centres that respect the asylum seekers' humanity while, at the same time, pursuing in a spirit of fairness the principle that those who come to Australia by irregular migration arrangements are not privileged above those who use regular methods.

As Anabelle Crabb reminded us in The Drum, motives are important here. We are motivated by a sense of compassion, a sense of responsibility and a sense of fairness to the people who arrive on these boats, the people who seek asylum via more regular channels and the Australian people that they want to join. We are not naive. We know that working out how to effect procedure that is both humane and fair will be difficult and will take time and that, with so many people in search of a new country of residence, the problem will be an ongoing one. That is why we welcome help in the process from experts such as the UNHCR and from the coalition, the Greens and the Independent members of the parliament who, as representatives of Australia, have a responsibility to work towards a solution to this crisis in our region.

The Houston report recommends that the humanitarian intake be increased—and I know that was not part of the opposition's policy, either. But I certainly invite Senator Fifield and his colleagues to reconsider and to support the government as it works through this and the other recommendations over the coming months. Simply declaring that 'It's my way or the highway' is irresponsible. The expert panel has endorsed some parts of the opposition's policy and some parts of the government's policy. But, frankly, it is in the interests of all Australians that the opposition should turn its focus from inaction to action and support the legislation recommended by the expert panel.