Well, we have a problem in this country in relation to this cohort, the NZYQ cohort of people who came to this country committed egregious crimes. They’ve failed the character test, of course, and they need to be deported. There’s issues deporting them back to their country of origin, and this arrangement with Nauru is meant to provide a pathway for them to be deported from Australia. And I think your interview raised some of the questions in relation to, well, what’s what’s actually going to happen down the path? This is a an issue for the Nauruan Government, primarily, but there are a number of questions I think that need to be answered.
Rod Henshaw
Like monitoring and supervision and all this sort of thing for a start.
Senator Scarr
There was a headline figure when this was announced, a touch over 400 million, and then through the Senate committee process last Wednesday night, we now realize the cost is going to be in billions. So, you know, there’s a lot of questions in relation to government’s management of this.
Rod Henshaw
Well, what’s the opposition’s position, Paul?
Senator Scarr
The Opposition’s position is to support the arrangement with the Nauruan Government on the basis that Nauru has negotiated the arrangement clearly. And I’m someone who cares deeply about our Pacific family, having lived and worked in Papua New Guinea for two and a half years, and Rod, I know your connection with Nauru as well. So it is important that as much substance is put out in relation to this arrangement and what’s going to happen in practice, I think it really is important from a public governance perspective.
Rod Henshaw
We spoke with Chris Merritt, the legal writer for The Australian a little earlier, and he was casting doubt. He was saying that the lawyers are circling and they could be challenging this in the High Court. In fact, he indicated that maybe the High Court might get it right this time.
Senator Scarr
Well, we live in a rule of law, and the court system is there, and people have rights to bring their appeals through the court system, ultimately to the High Court, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Rod Henshaw
Paul in supporting the move for the deportations, you mentioned the cost. Is the cost something you found higher than you were expecting?
Senator Scarr
No one had spoken about the cost over the period of the agreement. I think that’s the point. When the government announced this arrangement, it announced the initial cost, it didn’t provide the details with respect to the long term cost. And I think there’s a number of policy areas to be frank, where the government isn’t providing enough detail with respect to the longer term and that includes in my portfolio area of Immigration, where last week, they released the permanent migration intake for this financial year two months after the year commences, for a start, and it’s simply three sentences. And that’s not good enough. It’s not good enough. The government needs to be providing more detail, evidence of planning to the Australian people, and it’s happening across a number of portfolio areas to be frank. We had to drag the government kicking and screaming to issue 20,000 Home Care aged care packages urgently, and that was the power of the Senate. That was the only reason the government did that. When we’ve got 100,000 people waiting in a queue, 5000 people have died waiting for aged care packages to live at home. So it’s across a number of portfolios, and I’d prefer see a government that release more detail, too much detail, rather than less.
Rod Henshaw
Paul, I know you have to catch a plane, and we’re running out of time, but just a quick one on the ISIS Brides that came up last week. Did Anthony Albanese mislead the parliament? Why the secrecy?
Senator Scarr
Well, this is another issue. This is another prime example. We raised this issue after the reports in The Australian, made it clear that something’s happening. And the Prime Minister said the report was inaccurate. We raised questions in the Senate, and then we had the New South Wales Police Commissioner saying they’re in negotiations with the Federal Police, right? So, again, something’s happening. I ask questions in the Senate on Thursday, trying to ask them, well, is the Department of Home Affairs actually issuing travel documentation? Is the government issuing the documents needed for children born overseas to Australian citizens who left Australia and associated themselves with ISIS. Is the government actually issuing travel documentation, and they refuse to give us an open and clear answer. And again, that’s not good enough.
Rod Henshaw
Exactly. Okay, I’ll let you catch your plane, my friend.
Senator Scarr
Good on you mate, thank you.
