2017-02-08
The Government has been ordered by the Senate to produce the details of its agreement with the United States to consider resettling some people Australia has detained on Manus Island and Nauru.
"The government has kept this agreement hidden from view, creating unnecessary uncertainty and anxiety for people who have already suffered far too much," Greens Immigration spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.
"But from what is on the public record, it is clear that it doesn’t oblige the United States to accept a single person."
“The people Australia is indefinitely detaining on Manus Island and Nauru have been subjected to far too much uncertainty already, which has caused massive harm to many of them."
"The Australian people have the right to know the details of the agreement, and what has been traded away to get it done."
The Order for Production of Documents, moved by Senator McKim:
That there be laid on the table on 15 February 2017, by the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the agreement between Australia and the United States of America announced on the 13th November 2016 regarding the potential resettlement to the United States of refugees on Manus Island and Nauru.
Media Release Immigration and Citizenship