Sada-e-Watan
Sydney ™
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Transcript
Speech of the Honourable Shaoquett Moselmane, MP
(New South Wales.
Australia Parliament on May 2021)
The Hon. SHAOQUETT MOSELMANE (00:15): The Morrison
Government's decision to block Australians returning from India is appalling.
It is an outrageous dereliction of duty to one's citizens. No self‑respecting
government would ditch its own citizens in the manner in which the Morrison
Government has. It is a low act of cruelty and in breach of all civilised
standards and international norms. I was not surprised to hear of this
abominable, cruel decision taken by the Morrison Government. I remember the
debate around bringing home Australians from China. The discussion rotated
around dumping them hundreds of kilometres away from mainland Australia in
detention centres on Christmas Island. The Federal Government is insulting to
all Australians. Internationally, our name is mud.
Australians are a
humane people. We care about others and we value all our citizens as
Australians deserving protection. As Emeritus Professor of Medicine at UNSW,
John Dwyer, argues in his article published on thePearls and Irritations
platform, we have "a moral responsibility to get Australians home". About 9,000
Australians are in India, including 650 who are listed as "vulnerable". They
need our help. We have a duty of care to them as Australians, as we have to all
Australians in Australia and abroad. We all appreciate the need to tread
carefully to ensure that all measures are taken to prevent the spread of a more
aggressive strain of coronavirus taking foothold in Australia and prevent a
third wave. We all agree on this. However, we must make decisions to ensure
that the lives of all Australians are equally worthy of saving.
Instead
of reaching out to Australians in India, the Morrison Government has threatened
them with a $66,600 fine or a five‑year jail term if they attempt to enter
Australia from India. Whilst the ban on travel from India is temporary and is
due to expire on 15 May, the Government could decide to extend it. The truth is
that no such measure had ever been applied by the Government to any other
international COVID-19 hotspot. Former Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim
Soutphommasane told SBS News there has been "an inconsistency" with how the
Federal Government has treated arrivals from different countries during the
pandemic. He stated:
When COVID-19 was raging last year in the United
States, the UK and in countries across Europe, we didn't see a ban on arrivals
of people from Europe, let alone criminal penalties being threatened to
Australian citizens seeking to return home.
The Australian Human Rights
Commission, an independent government organisation, said officials must
publicly justify the new policy and show it is not discriminatory. Justine
Nolan, a law professor and the director of the Australian Human Rights
Institute at UNSW, stated:
They have taken it to the extreme—not only
closing the door, but adding the potential fines and jail …
I think
we're not acting consistently with our international human rights
obligations.
Australian citizen Mandeep Sharma is currently stuck in the
Indian city of Kapurthala. He left Australia on 2 April to bury his father. Mr
Sharma's return flight to Australia, scheduled for 7 May, was cancelled after
the ban on flights from India was announced earlier in the week. He says the
additional criminalisation measures are insulting. He toldSBS News:
In
our hour of need, [the Australian government] has abandoned and betrayed us
…
The Council of Indian Australians said there is a feeling in the
Indian-Australian community that they have been unfairly targeted. The
council's public officer Mohit Kumar stated:
It's a kick in the guts.
It's un-Australian and it's unacceptable.
Federation of Indian
Associations of NSW President, Yadu Singh, said some members of the diaspora
have said they hoped the announcement was not part of any "racist dog
whistling".
Australian barrister, human rights and refugee advocate
Julian Burnside said he was "horrified" by the Government's move to ban
Australian arrivals from India, while renowned human rights lawyer Geoffrey
Robertson, QC, said the ban on Australians returning from India because of
COVID-19 is unconstitutional and made under "dictatorial power", not approved
by Parliament and undermined rule of law. Former test cricket opener Michael
Slater, who is attempting to return home from India, accused Prime Minister
Morrison of having blood on his hands over the controversial travel ban. He
tweeted:
If our government cared for the safety of Aussies they would
allow us to get home. It's a disgrace!
Blood on
your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this.
