2015-10-09
The Australian Government will be throwing good money after bad if it pursues a refugee deal with the Philippines and it needs to be upfront about the detail of any deal, the Australian Greens have said.
"The Australian Government is involved in a secret deal with the Philippines, trading in human lives, and the Immigration Minister must explain what's really going on," The Green's immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
"The deal with Cambodia is in shambles and, instead of recognising their mistakes, the government is trying to set up another dodgy deal.
"Treating refugees as human cargo in a trade deal with the Philippines is shameful. With the rumoured cost to the tax payer to be at least $150 million, the government needs to be upfront about the details of this deal.
"Murder, torture and enforced disappearances are still common in the Philippines and its clearly no place for us to be sending refugees.
"Following the spectacular failure of the Cambodian deal, the government will be throwing good money after bad if it pursues a similar arrangement with the Philippines.
"If the government is serious about pursuing these types of deals, it should take them to the Parliament and test whether they have support."
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