Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can advise the House that a major rescue operation is underway right now, 107 nautical miles north of Christmas Island and 100 nautical miles south of Indonesia. As this parliament sits, we have planes in the air and merchant vessels on the scene and HMAS Maitland has arrived. The information I will give the House now is the latest information available. Of course, the information can be changeable; it is always difficult to get accurate information when a search and rescue mission is underway. But I am advised that this morning, at approximately 6.17 am Australian Eastern Standard Time, the Australian Federal Police received a satellite call from a vessel possibly in distress two nautical miles north of Christmas Island. Information about the vessel was immediately passed to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Border Protection Command vessels rushed to the scene but found nothing two nautical miles out from Christmas Island.

I am advised that at approximately 7.30 am the Australian Federal Police received a further call from the vessel, advising that it was actually 107 nautical miles north of Christmas Island. This has prompted a major search and rescue effort, as I am sure the House can imagine. I can advise that a number of merchant vessels responded to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's calls for assistance this morning. By approximately 10.30 am Australian Eastern Standard Time, two merchant vessels had reached the estimated location of the vessel in distress.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority advised that a merchant vessel reported seeing a vessel stopped in the water with people on board wearing life jackets. No people were reported as being in the water. At 11.37 am Australian Eastern Standard Time, the merchant vessel reported that the vessel was sinking and that there were people in the water. I am advised that the merchant vessel did what it could to assist at that point, including deploying its life rafts to render assistance. I am advised that the HMAS Maitland arrived on the scene about an hour ago. I am also advised that a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft carrying life rafts has flown to attend the scene.

I am advised that there are approximately—our numbers obviously can change, but there is reason to believe that there are around—123 to 133 people on board. As we speak, my best advice is that 123 people have been rescued. Clearly, then, the lack of precision about the numbers of people on board does not enable us to be precise at this time as to anyone who is unaccounted for. Standing here in the parliament now, I simply do not know.

Australia has been called on, once again, to lead a very major search and rescue operation. Once again, Australian men and women have raced to help. They have gone to the rescue zone. They have gone in search. Once again, we acknowledge their courage in doing so.

In view of these events and in view of the events of last week, I want to say to the parliament now most sincerely that I believe the time for the party divide on this issue is at an end. We have seen too much tragedy, and I cannot—and I do not believe other members of parliament can—now sit here with the prospect of more tragedy to come.

In these circumstances I have requested that Mr Oakeshott be prepared at this moment to bring on his bill on immigration amendments so that the House can now, I hope, by leave and in agreement, deal with it to finality. As the House may be aware, that bill has finalised its second reading and, consequently, we would just need to deal with the third reading stages of the bill.

I actually think it is of significance to this parliament that this is a bill brought to this place by an Independent member of parliament. Given all of the circumstances here, I, as the Labor leader, would want to walk from this place saying, 'No-one won, no-one lost; we just got something done.' And I think an Independent member's bill gives us all the opportunity to do just that—to go from this place saying: 'No-one won; no-one lost. It wasn't about party politics. It wasn't about who has got what sort of party ticket in their pocket. We just worked together to get something done.'

I have reason to believe that the bill moved by Mr Oakeshott may be in a position to command majority support in this House of Representatives. I seek to have that tested now and the bill dealt with to finality.

To the Leader of the Opposition: I understand that he is of a different view from me on the substance of the policy here, and that is as it may be. But what I can undertake to the Leader of the Opposition is: if Mr Oakeshott's bill passes this House of Representatives—if, indeed, it passes this parliament—then what the government will do on that legislative foundation stone is what the government offered to the opposition some time ago. That is, the government would enact a policy position that the opposition has advocated for quite passionately, and that is the opening of a detention centre on Nauru, as well as the government taking the appropriate steps to enact its arrangement with Malaysia.

I also undertake to the Leader of the Opposition that we would pursue in good faith the review of temporary protection visas and their deterrence value that we offered to the opposition some time back. We would do that in circumstances where we would make all reasonable efforts to agree with the opposition the identity of the reviewer or reviewers and the terms of reference of the review, and that there would be full transparency to the opposition at every stage. That is, we would not seek to have the outcome of that review come back to the government first. On the day I receive it the Leader of the Opposition would receive it too.

In these circumstances, I am now going to ask this parliament, by agreement, to make some procedural arrangements and then I am going to ask this parliament—I would hope by agreement—to give a majority to the bill moved by Mr Oakeshott. Can I also undertake to the opposition that bringing the bill on at this time is not about whether or not we have question time today. If the opposition finalise Mr Oakeshott's bill then I am well and truly content for us to have question time of the usual duration so that the opposition has its ability, as is appropriate, to ask questions of the government in this place.

It is in that spirit and with those words that, at this stage, I ask leave of the House to move a motion to enable the Migration Legislation Amendment (The Bali Process) Bill 2012 to be called on and considered immediately.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I go to indulgence I actually need to know—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He's the Leader of the Opposition!

Mr Pyne interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for North Sydney! The member for Sturt! The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. Procedurally I have to put the question as it has been asked—before the Manager of Opposition Business gets up. Could the Manager of Opposition Business please resume his seat. Please just let me proceed. Thank you. I am going to ask for consideration from the Prime Minister to seek leave at the end of the Leader of the Opposition's statement.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very happy to do that, Madam Deputy Speaker, and enable the Leader of the Opposition to make remarks on indulgence at this time.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. We will put the leave question after the Leader of the Opposition makes his statement. The Leader of the Opposition has the call and will be heard in silence.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I thank the Prime Minister and the government for facilitating this opportunity to speak on indulgence.

Plainly this is a sombre day. Plainly this House meets in the shadow of unfolding disaster in the seas to our north. Plainly this is the kind of occasion when we should try to put aside some of the ordinary partisan politicking that so often marks this parliament. Nevertheless, I do not think anyone on either side of this parliament would expect people to put aside their strongly held beliefs and their strongly held principles about the various policy positions which have been put by different people in this parliament on the question of border protection. I will come to that shortly.

I thank the Prime Minister for her update on the emergency operations now taking place for search and rescue in the seas to our north. I congratulate the merchant ship on its fine work. I obviously thank and admire the Australian military personnel who are now, as they always do, preserving life under difficult circumstances. Nevertheless this latest disaster, the second in under a week, does raise very serious questions which need to be considered by this parliament and by the government. Obviously there are serious questions about the resources that our government has in the area, given the increasing flow of boats and the increasing overloading of dangerous and risky boats in this area. Obviously there are serious questions about how we can have better cooperation with Indonesia, given that this disaster and the disaster last week have taken place in Indonesia's search and rescue area. And, yes, there are fundamental questions about government policy and about what this parliament has been doing over the last six months.

The fact is that the government has had a bill in this parliament since late last year, and at any time this government could have brought the bill forward for decision. It chose not to do so. Instead the government worked with the member for Lyne, Mr Oakeshott, to bring a bill into the parliament in almost identical terms to the government's bill—not a bill that was strictly moved by the government but a bill which was in almost identical terms to the government's bill.

The opposition has very serious problems with the government's bill. We do not like and will never like the Malaysian solution. We are perfectly happy with Malaysia as a country, but as a place for boat people to be sent we do not believe it works. We do not believe it meets the ordinary standards which the Australian public would expect of the conduct of the Australian government. Let us be very clear what this opposition has been consistently saying for six months, ever since the Malaysian deal was mooted by the government. We have said that this is a dud deal for Australia and we have said that it is a cruel deal for boat people.

We have always believed in offshore processing, but we have always believed in offshore processing with protections, and it is these protections which have been stripped away from boat people in the legislation which the government first put and which now the member for Lyne is putting. We know that while the opposition has been absolutely consistent for a decade in our support for offshore processing with protections, the Labor Party—the government—has radically changed its position. First it was totally opposed to any form of offshore processing, then at the last election the Prime Minister said the government supported offshore processing at East Timor, but she explicitly ruled out—on numerous occasions before the last election—processing in a country that had not signed the UN convention, and then only last year did the government finally say that it wanted offshore processing and in a country that had not subscribed to the UN convention.

I want to make it crystal clear that at any time in the last six months the government could have taken this action, but at no stage did bring its bill forward, and it certainly has not brought Mr Oakeshott's bill to the conclusion that it now seeks to give to his bill. By contrast, the opposition's position has been absolutely crystal clear all along.

Earlier today, until interrupted by 90-second statements and without facilitation from the government, I tried to give this parliament a way forward that embraced the common ground that now exists on both sides of this chamber: support for offshore processing at countries which have subscribed to the UN convention. That is acceptable to the opposition. It is acceptable to the government. I believe that that is the legislation that should now be dealt with by this parliament. I think that, if this Prime Minister really wanted our nation to go forward on a united basis, the best thing she could do would be to allow the legislation that I sought to bring into the parliament earlier today to go forward, because we know that there are many members opposite who do not like the Malaysia deal. We know there are many members opposite who have spent a parliamentary lifetime attacking offshore processing in any shape or form, let alone offshore processing without any protections whatsoever.

If this parliament is to be offered a piece of legislation which is most consistent with the consciences of the members of this parliament, it should be the legislation that I sought to bring forward earlier today, legislation that every coalition member of parliament and every Labor member of parliament ought to be able to live with in his or her conscience, because it allows offshore processing with the kinds of protections that a decent and humane country such as Australia should always have in place. That is what the coalition offered the parliament an hour or so back and I deeply regret the fact that this Prime Minister and this government have not allowed this bill to go forward.

That concludes my remarks on indulgence. I think it would be appropriate for the Prime Minister to allow the coalition to consider its position, given that we have had no notice of this. I did seek to speak to the Prime Minister just after one o'clock today to inform her of my intentions. Unfortunately, until she got to her feet at two o'clock, I had no notice of her intentions.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To the Leader of the Opposition, I do believe that there is some urgency in the House in dealing with this matter now. I believe the eyes of the nation are upon us, given this second incident with an asylum seeker vessel, and nothing is to be gained by delay. I trust that the House will give leave. I ask leave of the House for a motion to be moved to enable the Migration Legislation Amendment (The Bali Process) Bill 2012 to be called on and considered immediately.

Leave granted.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Migration Legislation Amendment (The Bali Process) Bill 2012 being called on and considered immediately.

I do not think it is appropriate that there be a discussion. It is more appropriate that we move on to the debate of the legislation.

Question agreed to.