Parliament winds up business to await treasurer's speech – as it happened

3 May 201621.38 EDT

Paul Karp

Labor’s caucus has also addressed the topic of asylum seekers after the death of an Iranian man and self-immolation of a second refugee last night.

In a valedictory speech to her colleagues, the retiring MP Melissa Parke said “great harm is being done to people on Manus Island and Nauru”.

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, told caucus: “If we get the chance to form government we will make it clear through our actions we don’t support indefinite detention. The people concerned will be resettled in third countries.”

Another member praised Shorten and the way the opposition spokesman on immigration minister, Richard Marles, handled asylum seekers, saying Labor should “always protect the interests of the most vulnerable”.

Shorten responded that Labor had to have policies that avoided drownings at sea and that treated people within our care decently.

Q: Do you know if the reports are true that this was the second suicide attempt by this woman?

Peter Dutton:

I am not commenting in relation to individual medical histories about patients. I haven’t made a practice of that. What I can say is that this woman had been to Australia before, received medical attention, received a clearance to return to Nauru, was provided with medical assistance in Nauru as well.

As we have said before, when people have received medical assistance that they come to Australia to receive, once that medical assistance has been provided, they will return to Nauru.

Another obvious and more than reasonable question.

Q: What is your evidence that it is the advocates who are driving these people to take this extreme measure?

Peter Dutton:

There is a lot of advice that we receive, intelligence we receive, contact between the staff and those people on Nauru.

There is a lot of publicly available information in relation to some of the social media messaging as well.

There is no doubt about the actions of some, and as I say, this results in a difficult circumstance, compounded by these comments and this advice and we should call it out for what it is.

I have stood up in this room before, made public comment in the House and I have addressed you elsewhere before about my concerns over a period of time of the advocates and those people who are opposed to the government’s tough border protection policies.

We are not going to change those policies, and the advocates, by providing false hope to these people, really [are] to be condemned. They can provide offers of support, that is reasonable. But to provide advice otherwise is very dangerous.

We are seeing that play out at the moment. We are not going to allow for it to continue.

Q: Why did it take 24 hours to airlift the Iranian refugee and it took only 12 hours to airlift this refugee?

Peter Dutton:

Because there were issues in relation to flight crews, the mandated rest times that flight crews have to have, the availability of flight crews for the air ambulance, the stabilisation of the patient, and on medical advice we rely as to when the person is stabilised or in a position to be able to fly.

There was no delay.

I know there is a conspiracy amongst some of the advocates that there was delay. There wasn’t. It is a nonsense. I have dealt with it and I won’t answer questions on that again.

Dutton is asked about reports of a third incident on Nauru. He says he has no information about that.

Dutton is asked about Manus island after the PNG supreme court decision last week. What is the update?

Peter Dutton:

There are discussions under way now. Our officials have travelled up there over the weekend and they are in discussions with their counterparts about the issues arising from the supreme court decision last week.

That is the update I can give you in relation to Manus.

First question is pretty obvious.

Q: Do you accept that rather than this being at the behest of refugee advocates, these people are just desperate and that is why they are self-harming?

Peter Dutton:

People have paid thousands of dollars to people smugglers to come to Australia and they haven’t arrived in Australia. They are frustrated by that, I can understand that.

I repeat the call to advocates today that their intentions may be honourable and they may be noble in their own minds, but they are causing serious harm.

We won’t tolerate that situation.

Peter Dutton says the government has no intention of changing its border protection policies.

Advocates should reflect on their messages of false hope and misleading portrayal of the situation in Nauru. While some may be encouraged by messages of false hope and some may resort to extreme action, this government will not be dissuaded from its stated border protection policies, nor will it tolerate threats to assets in Nauru, such as the hospital that has been provided for the benefit of those in the regional processing centre, refugees and the people of Nauru.

The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, is in the Blue Room giving update on events on Nauru that I pointed you to earlier today.

Peter Dutton:

The lady has been transferred from Nauru and has arrived in Australia. She remains in a very serious, critical condition and all efforts are being made to meet her medical needs. Like all of you, we can only hope for the best possible outcome.

Dutton isn’t inclined to see his policy and Labor’s policy as the problem. Apparently the self harm is the fault of refugee advocates.

It is of grave concern that this person would resort to such an extreme act of self-harm. The behaviours have intensified in recent times, and as we see they have turned to extreme acts with terrible consequences.

Advocates who proclaim to represent and support the interests of refugees and asylum seekers must frankly hear a clear message and I will repeat it again today.

Their activities and these behaviours must end.