David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I just want to put on the record the many concerns I've heard from people in the ACT about the way that the government is rushing through a bill which Senator Shoebridge and Senator Cash methodically proved is not actually urgent. Many Canberrans have very deep concerns about the way that this is happening in our parliament, with a total lack of scrutiny and what seems to be going against the Labor values that we heard about before the last two elections.

On the broader issue of a deal with Nauru to send people who we have been told are too much of a risk to our community to be released, that we simply cannot release these people into our community for fear of what may happen to Australians, we are happy to pay Nauru to take them. They're a small island nation. We are going to pay them $2½ billion to $7-plus billion over the next 30 years to do that. It doesn't bode well, given the majority they have in the House, if this is the way that the government are going to treat the parliament.