The Greens today have secured an inquiry into Labor's secret deportation and detention arrangements since 2022 with the Republic of Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
This inquiry follows the revelation of serious corruption and secrecy in the recent deals with Nauru. Offshore detention and processing on PNG and Nauru are long-standing policies of the Liberal and Labor parties.
Since 2022, Labor has pushed for an expansion of offshore detention in Nauru and abandoned those in PNG, while creating a whole new system to forcibly deport people to any third country they can cut a deal with.
With the Albanese Government escalating the cruelty towards migrants and refugees, we need to start holding power to account, and this inquiry will be a real start.
Senator Shoebridge, Greens spokesperson on Immigration and Foreign Affairs, said: "Cruelty creates corruption, and corruption thrives in darkness, this inquiry is a chance to shed light on this toxic mess.
"We have seen scandalous evidence of Labor's rotten Nauru deal this week. From bikie gangs to crooked politicians and contractors, this whole project of disappearing people offshore is offensive to basic decency.
"Billions of dollars have already been funnelled into some of the most brutal policies in modern Australian history, with billions more promised, we need to draw a line in the sand.
"It is about time the Australian public knows what our tax dollars are buying and who is raking them in.
"For over a decade people seeking asylum and refugees have faced torturous conditions in Nauru and PNG, funded by the Australian government. The whole system is not just morally corrupt but financially corrupt too, and it's time we heard the full truth about it.
"The fact that the Albanese Labor Government explicitly opposed this inquiry speaks volumes. Imagine that, after all the scandals, all the corruption, all the abuse, to then oppose even a little bit of oversight."
Read the full terms of reference here
