Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to say from the beginning that this summary report of the Independent Health Advice Panel is proof that the medevac laws are working. They are sensible, humane laws that build public confidence in the administration of the Migration Act and support the maintenance of an effective border protection regime, and they mean that sick refugees and asylum seekers detained indefinitely on Nauru and Manus Island receive the medical care they seek.

Under the Migration Act and the laws commonly known as 'medevac', if the minister refuses the medical transfer of an individual on health grounds, the decision is reviewed by the Independent Health Advice Panel. The panel, or IHAP, is made up of government appointed doctors—that is, doctors appointed by the minister—and it includes a Commonwealth medical officer and the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Home Affairs, as well as other leading independent doctors. The panel then reviews the minister's decision and can overturn it on medical grounds only.

This report reveals that, in the period 1 April through to 30 June, 15 cases were referred to the panel. Remember when Prime Minister Morrison flew the RAAF aircraft to Christmas Island—in probably the most expensive ever political ad—to announce that, as a result of the advent of the medevac legislation, the Christmas Island detention centre would have to be reopened? In fact, 15 cases were referred to the panel. In nine of those cases, the panel upheld the minister's refusal to transfer. They overturned his decision on health grounds on six occasions. This means that the independent panel has agreed with the minister on more occasions than not. So much for the scare campaign! All of the other successful transfers under medevac during this period could only have been because the minister agreed that these people needed to be transferred to Australia for medical treatment. So every time you hear the Minister for Home Affairs claim that medevac has resulted in a flood of people coming to Australia, he's crying wolf. It's contemptible. He's trying to carve out some partisan advantage by creating the spectre of unregulated arrivals seeking medical attention in Australia. The Minister for Home Affairs has approved every single transfer in the past three months, except six cases which were approved by a panel of doctors appointed by him. Sick refugees and asylum seekers detained indefinitely on Nauru and Manus Island should be able to receive the medical attention that they need.

I want to make it abundantly clear that Labor strongly supports the medevac legislation and that Labor will not change its position in relation to this legislation.

Whenever the Minister for Home Affairs's incompetence gets the better of him, he starts making outrageous claims to distract voters from what's really going on in the maladministration of his department. The Minister for Home Affairs is trying to distract everybody from his failures. Those failures include the 81,000 people who've arrived by aeroplane—not by boat, but by aeroplane—and claimed asylum in Australia, with over 90 per cent of these people being found not to be refugees; the egregious exploitation those people face when they're in Australia, including being paid as little as $4 an hour; the unfettered abuse of short-term work visas and work rights for student visa holders, exploiting vulnerable workers by undermining wages and living standards in the interests of profit for unscrupulous Australian businesses; the record-breaking 230,000 people on bridging visas in Australia; and the further 64,000 visa overstayers in Australia. These are the real failures of the Minister for Home Affairs. They are the signs of waste, incompetence and mismanagement. The medevac legislation is proof that it's a sensible, humane, responsible response to a significant problem.

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the quarterly report of the Independent Health Advice Panel. What the summary of this report makes abundantly clear is that medevac is working. It shouldn't be novel to anybody in this place—or indeed in our community—that if you are sick you should be able to see a doctor. This is exactly what medevac provides for. It allows vulnerable people in Nauru and on Manus Island to get the treatment they need, and all in a manner that is controlled by a minister or by government-appointed doctors. The quarterly report reveals that, in the period of 1 April to 30 June, 15 individual cases were referred to the panel. In nine cases the panel upheld the minister's decision to refuse a transfer and the decision was overturned in only half a dozen instances. This means that the independent panel has agreed with the minister on more occasions than not.

It is clear that the Morrison government and the Minister for Home Affairs will do everything in their power to discredit medevac as they attempt to repeal it. They claim that it is flawed, that it is slow or that it is legally fraught. They claim that the legislation undermines Australia's border security. They even claim that it allows criminals to come into Australia, yet they have no evidence to support this outrageous claim. The Minister for Home Affairs, Minister Dutton, has vigorously argued that 'two doctors from Nimbin' can force the government to bring people from Manus Island or Nauru to Australia. These claims are simply not true. The minister has claimed that 1,000 people would flood into Australia through medevac. That hasn't happened. The minister has also claimed that some doctors are working to bring refugees from Nauru and Papua New Guinea without the refugee even giving their consent. Again, there isn't a shred of evidence to support this.

The reality is that, out of the 75 submissions made to the Senate inquiry into the government's attempt to repeal medevac, only one submission supported the repeal of these laws: the Department of Home Affairs submission. What is clear is that the Minister for Home Affairs is attempting to cover up his failures—namely, the people smugglers are now using our visa system and airline arrivals to smuggle people into Australia. We know that over 81,000 people have arrived in Australia by aeroplane and claimed asylum on Minister Dutton's watch. We know that criminal syndicates are forcing people to apply for asylum in Australia knowing that, because of Minister Dutton's incompetence and mismanagement, it will take years for their claim to be processed. These exploited people are placed on bridging visas while their claim for asylum is assessed, and labour hire companies make them work in exploitative conditions. It is leading to an exploited workforce where people are paid as little as $4 to $5 an hour and being held in conditions that, one might suggest, resemble slavery. Whilst the minister and this government make outrageous claims about medevac, know that this report proves him wrong and his department wrong. And, more importantly, in making these claims, all he's trying to do is distract from his incompetence and failures in administering his department.