Andrew Wilkie MP speech in the House of Representatives 26 May 2014, tabling his

Migration Amendment (Ending the Nations Shame) Bill 2014

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Madam Speaker this bill might be better referred to simply as the Ending the Nations Shame
Bill. And I say that very deliberately because shame is a powerful word and a powerful
emotion. Most people have felt it at one time or another; a feeling deep inside when we
know weve done something wrong. And I think we all know that the wrong that leads to
shame is often a wrong done to others.

Madam Speaker shame is an emotion often felt in retrospect, looking back on events, despite
efforts to sidestep the reality of what has been done. We try to justify our actions. We did not
know. We did not see. We could not have done anything. We could not have changed the
outcome.

But when it comes to Australias treatment of asylum seekers there are no such excuses. We
do know. We do see. We can do something. We can change the outcome. And Madam
Speaker, millions of Australians do feel shame at the actions of this and previous
governments when it comes to our countrys response to asylum seekers. And moreover they
feel this shame keenly, shame at actions done in their name. Madam Speaker its time, in fact
its way beyond time, for this government to end the nations shame and this bill will do just
that.

Madam Speaker the Government has done all it can to direct the public gaze away from
Australias treatment of asylum seekers. Its shut down information and stomped all over
transparency. Asylum seekers are stopped before they reach our shores and kept out-of-sight,
out-of-mind on islands in some of the most remote places imaginable.

No one is without sin here because in fact it was Labor that invented mandatory detention,
tried to stich up a deal with Malaysia and resurrected Manus Island. But its been the Liberals
who have perfected the solution to the problem of what they call illegal immigrants.

But you know what? We still see. We saw the wild waters off Christmas Island where men,
women and children drowned trying to reach a safe life for their families and beliefs. We saw
the riots on Manus Island that led to the death of a hopeful young man straining for a better
life. We saw the pained faces of observers who tell of children in detention who have stopped
speaking or who refer to themselves by number, rather than by name. And Madam Speaker,
surely there is no greater shame than that done to the worlds children.

Madam Speaker this government, and the previous government, believe that refugees who
arrive by boat are less deserving of our help than those who can afford a plane ticket. Well
theyre not.

This government, and the previous government, believe asylum seekers must form a queue or
their asylum claim is illegal. Turns out these politicians believe we should treat some of the
most vulnerable people running from terror like theyre an invading force or a border threat.

Madam Speaker this bill would change all that because it ends mandatory detention, ends
offshore processing and ends Temporary Protection Visas. It also gives asylum seekers full
access to Medicare, Centrelink and work rights; and full access to legal support and the rights
of appeal.

In other words this bill makes Australia act like the rich and civilised country we are; a place
that not only signed up to the Refugee Convention, but also one that believes in it. This bill
would end the shame.

Madam Speaker this bill would effectively end mandatory detention by imposing a 14 day
limit on the time people may be held by the authorities on arrival in Australia. And if, after 14
days, there has not been a decision, then they must be released on a bridging visa. Yes, it is
reasonable and sensible to make sure new arrivals are not security or health risks, but it is not
fair to hold asylum seekers indefinitely, or even to take so much longer than other nations to
process individual requests for protection.

Madam Speaker mandatory detention goes against everything we stand for in this country.
Australia is described as a lucky country, and it is. Australia is described as country of
opportunity, and it is. Yet we throw innocent people into jail for doing nothing more than
fleeing for their lives. In particular if a mother and her child spend months travelling the
dangerous route to Australia, and days in the hull of a leaking boat far out to sea, then they
have been in detention too long already.

Madam Speaker this bill would also shut down Nauru and Manus Island, as it should,
because its simply unconscionable to outsource our responsibilities and wash our hands of
all the consequences of that decision. So when those in need arrive in Australia, this bill
ensures that we take responsibility, that we process people in centres that we control with
accountability to the Australian people, not the governments of developing nations.

Madam Speaker this bill would also provide certainty to people arriving in Australia that if
they have a valid claim for asylum, if their persecution and the danger they face in their
country of origin is genuine, then they will be given protection. But not just temporary
protection, which effectively imposes a long, slow torture on refugees, but permanent
protection which sends a clear message to vulnerable people, and families, those who face the
worst violations of their liberty and safety, that if they are telling the truth then they will find
genuine safety here in Australia.

Madam Speaker this Bill will also remedy the appalling situation whereby countless refugees
are prohibited from accessing gainful employment and government services like Medicare
and Centrelink. Frankly, I find it repugnant that we have an official policy to prevent some
people in this country from being able to earn or learn, and which denies them any effective
financial safety net.

I should add, however, that at least this policy is not entirely discriminatory seeing as the
Government is determined to deny a financial safety net to even its own citizens if
the proposed changes to Newstart for Australians under the age of 30 are ever realised. More
broadly, though, the Government obviously does not believe that all are equal under the law,
seeing as the manner in which a person arrives in this country determines their access to the
legal framework set up to assist and protect all migrants and refugees arriving in Australia.
To remedy that, this bill would ensure that there is no distinction made between asylum
seekers based on the circumstances of their arrival. So if they need and are entitled to access
one of the many review mechanisms available, then all will have an equal right to do so and
be treated equally under the law.

Madam speaker this bill also seeks to ensure greater transparency and, to that end, requires
the Minister for Immigration to provide the Parliament with a report every six months
outlining how many people have arrived in Australia seeking our protection and how many of
those the Government has turned away. For too long this government has hidden behind
phrases like operational matters and refused to tell the Parliament and the people the truth
about how many people want to come here, how many theyre locking up and how many
theyre sending back. Frankly, the Government acts in our name and has no right to keep
secret what really are, at the end of the day, humanitarian matters.

Madam Speaker the bill has one final reform I will mention, and that is how it ensures that
children who are traveling with their parents are not separated; not during detention and even
not during any transportation that needs to occur. Quite simply there is no good reason
children cannot be processed with their parents and there is no reason they would need to be
apart. In other words its quite outrageous that this government, and the previous government,
allowed minors to be held in detention and transported unaccompanied, especially when they
were being shipped to other countries.

Madam Speaker in closing I make the point again that Australia is a rich and fortunate place.
We need to start acting like it. And I make the point again that were actually a signatory to
the Refugee Convention. Again, we need to start acting like it. Its time to end the nations
shame and to that end I commend the bill to the House.