WILKIE ONLY MEMBER TO VOTE AGAINST OFFSHORE PROCESSING

The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, was the only Member of the House of Representatives to vote against the Bill that legalises offshore immigration detention.

The Government received the support of Labor to ram the Bill through the House.

“Labor and Liberal seem to be locked in a race to find the cruellest possible policy on asylum seekers,” Mr Wilkie said. “This is a shameful moment.

“Australia is a fortunate country and we have a legal and ethical responsibility to give protection to those fleeing persecution, not lock them up.

“This is not a border security problem, it is a global humanitarian crisis.

“I oppose mandatory detention, especially of children, offshore processing, temporary protection visas, the excision of territory from the migration zone and tow-backs.

“Any credible policy on asylum seekers must look at issues in source countries, countries of first asylum and transit countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. All policies must be co-operatively developed at a regional level and fully sanctioned by the United Nations.”

“This Bill puts the Government beyond the scrutiny of the High Court, thereby trashing one of the fundamental pillars of our democracy, that the courts should have final oversight of all legislation.”
Andrew Wilkie, Independent Member for Denison