Page 2749 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 21 November 1989
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MR HUMPHRIES: It is a matter of pride to me that my country has been a source of refuge for people who have faced political oppression in overseas countries. It is also a matter of concern to me and to my party that at the present time there is uncertainty and doubt in the minds of many Chinese students in this country as to what their future will be; in particular, whether they will be able to stay for any length of time in this country and avoid having to return to China.
I can understand that uncertainty. I can well understand the impact that the events of 4 June this year must have had on those students. I know that there has been considerable uncertainty amongst those students since that time and I think the unwillingness of the Federal Government to set out in clear and unambiguous terms at a very early stage what the status of those students would be, and in particular what its intentions as a government would be towards the processing of applications by such students for permanent residence or longer stays, must have been extremely unsettling.
I believe there are already a number of students who have been led to do foolish things in order to avoid having to return to their country. I hope that we can clear up that problem as soon as possible. I know that Dr Stephen FitzGerald in recent days has commented on the fact that Australia historically has had some infatuation with China, certainly since 1972, when relations were normalised with that country.
It is certainly true that recent events have taught us that we had some infatuation with the extent to which China had become liberalised as a result of the changes wrought since the cultural revolution. We cannot underestimate the extent to which people different from our own might treat problems differently from the way in which we might treat them.
Certainly the reaction of the Chinese Government came as a great shock to many of us in this country. Rather than merely pontificating on the world stage about the best way of dealing with those sorts of problems or condemning the Chinese Government, I hope that we can offer a real alternative to people who might be caught in the middle and can ensure that we provide, to the greatest extent possible within our own resources, a refuge for those who truly deserve sanctuary from what has occurred in their own country.
MR MOORE (8.16): I also seek leave to make a brief statement on this matter.
Leave granted.
MR MOORE: I would like to support the comments made by Mr Collaery, who I know has a genuine and sincere concern for human rights throughout the world and has demonstrated this
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