The Sydney Morning Herald, August 9, 2006 - 2:52PM
New asylum laws 'profoundly disturbing'
Liberal backbencher Petro Georgiou has described Government laws that would send
all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat offshore as the most "profoundly
disturbing" legislation he has ever encountered in Parliament.
Mr Georgiou has vowed to cross the floor of Parliament to vote with Labor and to
oppose the laws.
At least two other Coalition backbenchers, Russell Broadbent and Judi Moylan, are
likely to join him.
And at least two other Government MPs - Bruce Baird and Senator Judith Troeth -
have defied Prime Minister John Howard and said they also oppose the new hardline
policy.
Ms Moylan told AAP that she would cross the floor when the vote is taken later today.
Earlier, she told Parliament that the Government's controversial migration
amendments flew in the face of basic tenants of Australian law and democracy.
She warned Australia should not throw away basic principles of justice in law in the
face of pressure from Indonesia.
Mr Georgiou also had strong words for his own Government.
"The bill proposes a dramatic change to the broad framework that the Government
committed to a year ago," he told Parliament.
"The consequences would be draconic.
"The whole of Australia and ... Tasmania would be excised from the refugee protection
regime afforded by the migration act for people seeking asylum who arrive on our
mainland by boat," he said.
The Victorian MP said the treatment of asylum seekers under the changes would be
"unacceptably worse" than it is now and described the legislation as "severely
regressive".
"The Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill is the most
profoundly disturbing piece of legislation I have encountered since becoming a
member of Parliament," he said.
Mr Georgiou was elected to the safe Liberal Victorian seat of Kooyong in a by-election
in 1994.
He was one of a group of Government backbenchers who successfully lobbied Mr
Howard to change the immigration detention policy last year to ensure children were
not detained.
The new laws would overturn that victory, despite small compromises by Mr Howard
that prompted the tabling of a new, amended version of the bill today, he said.
His three major concerns with the bill are that children will be locked up, asylum
seekers will be blocked from access to Australia's legal appeals processes, and that
detention could be indefinite because of a lack of other countries to take those found
to be genuine refugees.
The Government wants to settle anyone found to be a refugee in a country other than
Australia as a priority, although it will consider taking them if another home cannot be
found.
Botched cases show need for scrutiny: Moylan
Ms Moylan said: "This legislation amending the migration act is not a matter between
conscience and our patriotism, for surely each one is worthless without the other and
ethical principles should inform them both."
She said Australia had very little control over conditions of asylum seekers once
placed in detention on the remote Pacific island of Nauru.
"This is complex legislation because it places people seeking refuge on our shores
out of the reach of Australian domestic law and, by our hand, places them within the
borders of a country that is not a signatory to international conventions protecting
asylum seekers," she said.
"The Government has admitted it has no control over the sovereign state of Nauru and
its laws.
"How will we know what is being done or not being done in our name?"
Ms Moylan warned that the botched cases of Vivian Alvarez and Cornelia Rau
demonstrated the need for much higher level of scrutiny on immigration cases.
She said most "fair minded" Australians opposed the legislation and did not want to
see Australian domestic policy dictated by Indonesia.
She asked whether there would be further backdowns and compromises to keep
Australia's northern neighbour happy.
"Australia is a big country, the Australian people have big hearts and I cannot believe
that they would condone a bill that is so regressive," she said.
"In considering this legislation we need to ask the questions in this place: What
values do we place on the rule of law? How can we in all conscience legislate to
consign people to a place where they are out of sight and out of mind.
"I cannot believe that the citizens of this sovereign country would ever cease to
wonder nor would they ever forgive were we in this house to acquiesce in silence to
pressure from a neighbour on a matter so much at the heart of our principles of
justice.
"I for one cannot remain silent," she said.
Government the great masquerader: Garrett
Labor MP Peter Garrett said the laws ran against basic Australian principals the
Federal Government sought to teach schoolchildren.
"On values which are the bedrock of democracy the Government is the great
masquerader," Mr Garrett said.
Mr Garrett read to the house government material that outlined principles it wanted
Australians to live by, principles he said which would not allow such laws.
Mr Garrett said the values included care and compassion, doing one's best, respect,
freedom and integrity.
"What exquisite hypocrisy ... the values the Government espouses and calls on
young Australians to live by, it itself is unwilling to follow," Mr Garrett said.
"And in this case it is young people in particular who will bear the brunt of the
Government's response to refugees."
Debate on the bill continues.
AAP
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