Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks very much, President. As I was saying, this bill slams the door closed on Iranian people who are suffering the entirely predictable consequences of a war that Labor has let Australia into, full-throatedly supported by the coalition and by One Nation, and that is why this bill needs to go before a committee for a long and robust inquiry, because this parliament should hear the voices of the people that Labor, with the support of the coalition and one Nation, is slamming the door closed on. Let's be very clear: this is a bill that exposes that Labor is not prepared to face the consequences of its decision to send Australia into a war on Iran, a decision roundly supported by the war parties in this place: the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation.

This bill slams the door closed on innocent people who may well be trying to flee based on a well-founded fear of persecution and may well be intending to seek asylum in Australia. Andto be clear: they potentially need protection not only from matters internal to Iran but also from the bombs that Australia is playing a role in raining down on Iran. Of course the Iranian women's football team should have been offered asylum in Australia. Of course they should. But how cynical is it that the relevant minister, Mr Burke, would fly up and leverage that opportunity for his own media and for the government's media at the same time and on the same day that the government introduced legislation into this place to slam the door closed on many other Iranian women, children and men who were in an identical position except for the media profile?

They were instead taking shelter under their beds or any other place they could find to try to dodge the weapons from the military assault on Iran that Labor has joined Australia to. The hypocrisy from Labor is rank here. They join Australia to a war on Iran, rain the bombs down, rain the firestorm down, rain the acid down on the Iranian people and then slam the door closed on the consequences of a war that Labor was the first government in the world to cheer on and that Labor has subsequently joined Australia to. It's time for Labor to accept the consequences of its actions, and one of the consequences of its actions, entirely predictably, was the displacement of large numbers of Iranian people. Rather than slamming the door closed on them, we should be ensuring that we face up to the consequences, and Labor should be ensuring that it faces up to the consequences of its actions and provides an opportunity for them to claim asylum in this country.