Senate debates

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Matters of Public Importance

Asylum Seekers

4:09 pm

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

I rise to speak in favour of the motion as put forward by Senator Siewert. This is a really important issue for us to discuss in this place today. I know, when we have in the past had debates around the issue of how Australia deals with and manages the flow of asylum seekers and what we do to help offer protection to refugees, often the level of debate in this place is very low. Often it becomes all about the politics of the issue rather than about understanding the fate of the people whom we are incarcerating in detention. There will be discussion, of course, as to how people arrived. We know that, under this government, even the terminology that is used in relation to how those asking for our help arrive here is negative: all government officials have been directed to refer to them as 'illegal'. In fact, they are not illegal at all. They are asylum seekers. They are people who are asking for refuge. They are not illegal. There is nothing in Australian law that says they are illegal—nothing but a directive from the immigration minister.

I do not want to spend the next hour in this place in an ugly debate, in what is often a very toxic discussion, around asylum seekers and refugees. What I want to do here today is talk about a very serious incident that occurred at the Manus Island detention centre only two weeks ago. A young man died. That young man's name is Reza Barati, a 23-year-old from Iran. He came to Australia as an asylum seeker, asking Australia to assess his claim. For all asylum seekers, there is a process they need to go through in order to be given permanent protection or, if they are not owed protection, to find them a safe way to be sent home. Now, Mr Barati had not even had his asylum seeker claim assessed because not one of the people who are detained at Manus Island have had their asylum seeker claims assessed, processed or judged in any way.

The incident that occurred on Manus Island two weeks ago resulted in the death of this young man. It also resulted in the serious injury of dozens of others. Seventy-seven people suffered injuries as a result of the incident. We do not know all the facts of what happened on that night or on the night before, when the first reports of an incident inside the detention centre started coming out to the Australian public and through the media. We do not know all the facts—

Senator Seselja interjecting—

because the government is not releasing all the facts.

Senator Seselja interjecting—

Mr Deputy President, if you could ask the senator on the other side to desist so I can at least hear myself think.

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