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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4339 ..

MR PRATT (continuing):

Turning to paragraph 1 (e) of Ms Tucker's motion, I am quite uncomfortable with the detention of children. I am very pleased that the minister for immigration is moving to alternative plans for children. There is a long way to go to achieve that. We need to get children out of those centres. We need to establish more, shall we call them, halfway centres where they can be better looked after and educated. I am entirely at one with Ms Tucker on that.

But it is a very tough administrative challenge and a balance is needed. The national interest must be served, as well as the humanitarian requirements of the people who have been detained. I am satisfied that the authorities are behaving humanely and I am confident that they are doing their best but, let's be fair, mistakes will occur, particularly in the hothouse environment of asylum seeker management. It is extremely political, it is tough, it is not easy, and I do think that we are not giving enough attention to the fact that these people are trying to do their best under very trying circumstances.

Mr Speaker, I find it objectionable that tonight the Greens are carrying the distorted view that the authorities in this country who are charged with the responsibility of managing the very complex, very challenging and highly emotive operations dealing with illegal arrivals and the genuine refugees who can often be found amongst them are supposedly doing so in an inhumane way, and "inhumane"is the operative word. That is what the Greens are saying in their motion tonight. Let the record show that Ms Tucker is saying far and wide that our AFP units, our customs and immigration officers, our sailors and our soldiers are an inhumane bunch, as if they have carried out willingly inhumane instructions allegedly issued by an inhumane government. Come on, give us a break!

These dangerously dishonest types of assertions that the irrelevant political minority and their Labor left mates throw around cause a lot of unnecessary grief. It is very important-

Government members interjecting-

MR PRATT: Mr Speaker, I cannot hear myself.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Pratt has the floor.

MR PRATT: Ms Tucker was able to speak in absolute peace and quiet.

Ms Tucker: This is Mr Interject himself.

MR PRATT: I did not interject on you tonight, Ms Tucker, partly because I was not here for half the speech.

Ms Tucker: I do not usually interject, but I am enjoying it right now.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Ms Tucker!

Ms Tucker: We have both had an exception. I am interjecting tonight and he is not. Great! We will just change roles.

MR PRATT: Are we done?

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