Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I rise to speak on the report of the Joint Select Committee on the Christmas Island Tragedy, which was established on 2 March 2011 to inquire into the incident on 15 December 2010 in which a boat full of men, women and children, now known as suspected illegal entry vessel 221, foundered on rocks on Christmas Island. The committee heard how just after dawn the unexpected boat was sighted in appalling weather conditions a few hundred metres from shore, seemingly unaware that relative safety could be found on the more protected east side of the island, where HMAS Pirie and ACV Triton were sheltering. SIEV221 pushed on towards the nearest part of Christmas Island. In what was to be a fateful turn of events, the vessel lost power and began drifting towards Rocky Point, with rescue boats still half an hour away at this time. The committee heard and saw horrifying evidence of how the boat impacted, by then completely at the mercy of the sea, against the rocky shore. What happened next was, first and foremost, a human tragedy. Forty-one people were pulled from the sea by Navy and Customs crew. One man, through sheer strength and considerable luck, managed to struggle up the razor-sharp rock to safety. Thirty of the deceased were found during the rescue and recovery effort. Twenty people were never found and are, of course, presumed dead. Three children were orphaned by this tragedy. Parents lost young children. People lost husbands, wives, brothers and sisters. Their grief is immeasurable.

It is with deep sympathy for the deceased and their families that the committee undertook to address in its terms of reference and to assess whether the rescue effort and after-incident support were everything they could have been. It is also with deep respect for the deceased, their families and the survivors of this tragedy that this report unreservedly praises the efforts of the rescuers and attributes to their heroic efforts the fact that 41 human beings were pulled alive from those turbulent seas. Having stood on those cliffs at Rocky Point, imagining the sheer force of the sea in atrocious weather, it is the view of the committee that it is remarkable that anyone at all survived. We could well have seen a different outcome if it were not for the rescuers, who put their own safety on the line to save others. This report unequivocally concludes that the rescue effort mounted by Customs and the Navy was of the highest order against the most trying circumstances.

The committee received a range of submissions from survivors, asylum seeker advocacy groups, government agencies and others. The committee appreciates the ongoing emotional impact of this tragedy on everyone involved and understands that these emotions are in many cases, understandably, still quite raw. The committee did its best to approach this inquiry, and each witness and submitter, with the utmost sensitivity. On behalf of the committee, I extend our gratitude to everyone who made submissions and gave evidence. The committee is aware that a large number of people who chose not to provide evidence to this inquiry were nonetheless deeply affected by the tragedy.

Of particular note are Christmas Island residents who, with little or no training, did all they could on the day, gathering lifejackets and other flotation aids and throwing them to people struggling in the water. Together with the Australian Federal Police officers, they formed a human chain to get closer to the edge in a bid to reach survivors. The committee heard that without these lifejackets it is certain that many more people would have perished. The committee also heard how helpless residents felt on the day, watching these horrific scenes unfolding and how they wanted to do more. These are all normal human reactions. The committee hopes this report will remind residents on Christmas Island that their admirable efforts were not in vain, quite the opposite.

From the onset of inquiry we set out to ensure that residents were being provided with the best possible ongoing support should they feel they need it. I speak for the committee in praising the effort and dedication of staff with the Indian Ocean Territories Health Service, who cared—and continue to care—for the Christmas Island community in direct and in indirect ways. The committee also acknowledges that government agencies made their own counsellors available to the community for some time after the tragedy and concludes that the support provided for residents was appropriate to their needs.

For the residents of Christmas Island, daily life serves as an inescapable reminder of the tragedy. When the committee learned that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship was planning to build a memorial for those who perished in the tragedy, it supported this decision but stressed that this should be done with sensitivity and in consultation with the island community. The report includes a recom­mendation to this effect in order to highlight just how important it is to help the community heal.

The committee also examined the care and support provided for the survivors and government agency staff. These two groups of people were affected in different but equally important ways. This inquiry focused extensively on the after-incident support provided for both groups. In both cases, after pursuing the matter with departmental officers, the committee was satisfied that all agencies fulfilled their duty of care with sensitivity and the utmost professionalism. The committee heard extensive evidence from senior DIAC officers on a number of issues around the care and support provided for the survivors and notably the specific needs of the three orphaned children. The committee found that everything that was done was done with the survivor's interests as the foremost concern. Psychological wellbeing and privacy were prioritised and for this the committee commends DIAC unreservedly.

While the committee assessed all available evidence anew, this inquiry was conducted with the benefit of the findings of two earlier examinations of the incident, the report of the Christmas Island Emergency Management Committee and Customs SIEV221 internal review. Both found that the emergency response of agencies on the island was excellent. This is in keeping with the committee's own inquiry, which did not come across anything that would lead the committee to question the quality of the response and rescue effort mounted.

The committee considers that this report complements the findings and recommend­ations of the Customs review, as well as the work undertaken by the Christmas Island Emergency Management Committee. The Customs internal review made eight prompt, comprehensive and appropriate recommend­ations. The committee bore these in mind over the course of the inquiry and noted that seven had already been implemented by the time the committee reported. Their imple­mentation will go a long way towards filling any gaps in Australia's rescue response endeavours identified in retrospect and will streamline any future rescue efforts, should they ever be required.

This tragedy has demonstrated the inherent dangers of the people-smuggling business in an horrific way and at great human cost. The committee hopes that this inquiry and report have helped elucidate how difficult a position rescue crew and witnesses to the tragedy found themselves in, and it praises the courage of everyone involved in the rescue effort under such impossible conditions.

On behalf of the committee I once again thank everyone who provided evidence for this inquiry. This participation process was painful for many. The committee recognises and appreciates their efforts. I would also like to pay significant tribute to the secretariat staff, who also had to engage with the committee members in hearing evidence from many of the groups affected. They also viewed the Christmas Island tragedy site and witnessed footage of the tragedy itself. I would also like to pay tribute to my fellow committee members particularly the deputy chair, Mr Keenan, from the other place, Mrs Markus from the other place, Mr Perrett, Mr Husic and Mr Champion, and Senator Cash, Senator Fielding and Senator Crossin. I thank them all very much for their cooperation and efforts involved in getting a unanimous report. I think it is a very thorough and comprehensive report, a very sensitive and difficult report to bring to conclusion, but I think that we all shared some of the pain involved. I can only again simply recognise the enormous courage that was displayed by everyone involved in the rescue effort. It could easily have turned out very badly for the rescuers themselves. We note that they operated in conditions far, far, far above the operational capacities of the vessels they were using, and their courage has made Australia proud. The rest of the islanders who were also involved in the rescue effort have also made us particularly proud to be Australians, and I commend everybody involved.

Question agreed to.