Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was the Rudd Labor government, supported by the Greens political party, that went into this arrangement. Those listening might say, 'Gee, that Senator Gallacher had some good points.' Yes, he did. But can I explain that these arrangements, these agreements, are made between one sovereign nation and another—and they are agreements that go for a long time. The government of Australia that made this deal, this agreement, with the Nauruan government that Senator Gallacher now criticises was the Rudd Labor government of which Senator Gallacher, Senator Conroy and the Greens political party were a part. Anyone could have said at the time that doing this as a pure political measure in the run-up to the 2013 election was fraught with danger. It was not clearly thought through, and the public servants who were trying to advise the government were given strict deadlines—'This has to be done tomorrow because we are going to an election and we need to pretend we have fixed the boat people problem.' Senator Gallacher made reference to 'asylum seekers' being a term of denigration. He might think it is a term of denigration but the Abbott government has just agreed to have 12,000 asylum seekers permanently settled in Australia and so 'asylum seekers' certainly is not a term of denigration as he was suggesting. But that is beside the point.

In defence of public servants who cannot themselves respond to the accusations of Senator Gallacher, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, as it then was, was the most harassed and overworked department in the days of the previous Labor government. Many departmental officials were absent on stress leave because they were required to process the tens of thousands of people illegally arriving in Australia. They saw some horrendous, some horrific, situations. Public servants, politicians and anyone who had to deal with those horrendous situations day after day after day were being overworked, doing long hours to try to cope with the unregulated influx of people entering Australia in the wrong way. For a parliamentarian to criticise those people, then and now, is unfortunate. Senator Gallacher says the department says that they have legal advice that the Public Accounts Committee cannot go and look at a situation in another country, but Senator Gallacher does not believe that. I have to say, with respect to Senator Gallacher, give me a departmental official with the benefit of the best legal advice as opposed to Senator Gallacher's advice, based purely on politics—I will always take the public servant with good legal advice. Senator Gallacher says the department knows best. I make the same qualification: give me the department, with all their resources and expertise and professionalism, over the allegations of the likes of Senator Gallacher and Senator Hanson-Young. I will take the department's evidence any time.

Senator Gallacher, as I understood him, implied that Commissioner Moss was 'looking after themselves'. I think they were his words—if I have misquoted him in the Hansard I will withdraw that later. That is what I understood him to say. To suggest that someone as well respected as Mr Moss would be 'looking after themselves' is an awful accusation and should be withdrawn. Senator Gallacher also talked about this country having antidemocratic measures. Thanks, Senator Gallacher, it is nice of you to say that now—but where were you when your government entered into the arrangement with this government you are now referring to as antidemocratic?

Senator Hanson Young, in a previous debate we were having on a similar subject, made a big point about this being a serious subject because women and children are being raped—and it is a serious subject. You would think from Senator Hanson-Young's contribution that she was the only one in the whole of this parliament concerned about that. I would say that every other member of this parliament has the same concerns, and that is why the Abbott government has spent quite a lot of money in pursuing these issues, in trying to bring perpetrators to justice where the Australian government has jurisdiction to do so. That is why it has accepted most, if not all, of the recommendations of Mr Moss. Everybody is appalled by that sort of behaviour but it is a question of what Australia can do about it when it happens in another country. If you look around the world any day of the week you will find things happening in other countries that most Australians would find abhorrent. But there is not a lot Australians can do except what the Abbott government has done: within its jurisdiction to provide every assistance to bring criminals and perpetrators of injustice to account. Again I say to Senator Hanson-Young that I can see that the Greens political party did not support the Labor government on this particular issue, but they kept the Labor government there for six years. At any time they could have got rid of a government that was so awful that it made this rushed decision which results in all of the problems that have now been enumerated by Senator Gallacher and Senator Hanson-Young.

I assure senators and those who might be listening to this that the Abbott government will do everything within its power, regardless of cost, to try to look after the safety and welfare of anyone for whom this nation is responsible, wherever they are in the world. There is not always an easy one-liner to respond with, but that is happening and is what the department is very professionally doing. I thank the relevant department, now the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, for the work they continue to do in protecting Australia's borders and in stopping the sorts of mass drownings that we saw occur under the Labor government with the unregulated flow of people smugglers and their clients into this country. I thank those public servants for a job very well done. As a parliamentarian I apologise to them that some of their actions have been criticised by a fellow parliamentarian. They do a wonderful job. I thank them for what they have done for Australia. They deserve our thanks and credit. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.