Senate debates

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

MV Tampa: Seventh Anniversary

4:16 pm

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

I move:

That the Senate—
(a)
notes that:
(i)
26 August marked the 7th anniversary of the rescue of 433 asylum seekers by the MV Tampa,
(ii)
this rescue was followed by the refusal of the Coalition Government to allow the ship to enter Australian shores in direct violation of both maritime conventions and human rights obligations, and
(iii)
the majority of the refugees, including children, were detained indefinitely on Nauru, as part of the Coalition’s ‘Pacific Solution’; and
(b)
calls on the Government, as part of the inquiry into immigration detention in Australia, to look into the psychological harm mandatory detention has caused children and their families as a matter of urgency.

Question put.