25th Aug 2011 – Senate Motions - Immigration: MV Tampa - End offshore processing

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. This means that the motion was rejected.

The motion was:

That the Senate-

(a)   notes that:

(i)   26 August 2011, marks the 10th anniversary of the rescue of 433 asylum seekers by the MV Tampa,(This rescue is known as the Tampa Affair.)

(ii)   this rescue was followed by the refusal of the Coalition Government to allow the ship to enter Australian shores in direct violation of both maritime conventions and human rights obligations,

(iii)   the majority of the asylum seekers, including children, were detained indefinitely on Nauru, as part of the Coalition's ' Pacific Solution', and

(iv)   10 years later, the Labor Government is still pursuing offshore processing, through Australia's agreement with Malaysia, and Australia's Memorandum of Understanding with Manus Island;

(b)   recognises a majority of Australians want asylum seekers processed on the mainland, according to The Age/Neilson poll published on 16 August 2011; and

(c)   calls on the Government to abandon offshore processing.

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