We cannot let people see that refugees and asylum seekers are normal people, wanting
nothing more than to make a contribution and become decent hard-working citizens.
So we have got to set the foghorn to maximum volume and create instruments like this code
of conduct.
We have to go further than that: we cannot afford for Australians to meet refugees, to
be exposed to these stories, to learn about the hardships that they are fleeing and hear
about the sorts of contributions that they want to make.
That is why we keep them locked up offshore.
We keep the press away.
We keep Australians away, because we cannot afford to shatter the illusion that has been
being created by this government and by governments before it.
I do not pretend for a moment that this is an easy issue but I condemn those people who
use the tragedy of deaths at sea to justify a policy that is implemented for no other
reason—not for reasons of compassion, care or decency—than for the most base political
purposes.
If you cared about deaths at sea, you would not be using words like 'illegal'.
You would not be calling someone who is in a state of desperation a 'moral blackmailer'
and you could not be implementing a code of conduct that implies these people are criminals,
that they do not share our values and cannot wait to get their hands on our women.
I would like to see a code of conduct that went something like this: no more three-word
slogans; no more lies about what it means to seek asylum; and no more using the word
'illegal' when you know it is not true and that it is a fundamental right.
If we do not learn from the mistakes of the past, we are condemned to repeating them.
We are going to use care and compassion as guiding principles rather than simply inflaming
people's fears and anxieties.
We are going to use facts.
We are going to reassure people that we do not need the army.
We do not need our Defence personnel.
We do not need the Navy, because this is a humanitarian issue.
Just as we expect you to uphold Australian law, we will uphold Australian law.
We will make sure that we uphold domestic law and international law, which means that
we will not forcibly deport you to countries where you are going to experience torture,
persecution and possibly worse.
Just as we want to ensure that you treat people with respect and do not engage in harassment,
we will keep you safe and treat you with respect.
We will treat you with the sort of respect that is currently being denied to you, because
of your circumstances which involve being locked up in offshore prisons.
We need to name what this is: it is racism.
It is not dog whistling.
This is a racist foghorn, loud and clear, saying to the Australian community: 'Don't
accept refugees.
Don't accept asylum seekers.
They are not like you and me.
They don't share the same values we share.
We don't want them here.
I say to the coalition: they are ordinary people with families, children with the same
hopes and dreams that all of us share and we, as a rich, decent and prosperous nation
should offer them the protection they so badly need.
If we do not do this, this is something that you will carry with you for the rest of your
lives.