Mr SECKER (3:09 PM) —My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. What are the results of yesterday's discussions with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding Australia's border protection policy? Are there any alternative approaches to this situation presently available?

Mr DOWNER (Minister for Foreign Affairs) —First of all, I thank the honourable member for Barker for his question and recognise the strong stance he has taken on these issues of dealing with illegal immigration. I know only too well, because Barker is adjacent to your electorate, Mr Speaker, and mine, that he is well supported there by the people of Barker, very few of whom vote for the Australian Labor Party. It is a good electorate.

Yesterday afternoon I had a constructive meeting with the members of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Mr Joinet from France and Mr Ban from Hungary. The working group is undertaking a two-week visit to Australia at the invitation of the Australian government. During my discussion with in particular Mr Joinet, who did most of the speaking, Mr Joinet outlined the mandate of the working group and emphasised that its mandate was strictly confined to assessing whether or not Australia's detention policy was imposed arbitrarily as defined by the relevant international conventions. Of course, it is not imposed arbitrarily; it is imposed by law.

I took the opportunity of stressing to the members of the working group that Australia's detention policy would continue to be managed in full compliance with our international legal and human rights commitments. I emphasised that detention is essential to enable appropriate health, security and identity checks to be carried out and that we would be continuing with this policy also in order to stop the flow of illegal migrants coming to our country.

I was surprised to read this morning on the front page of today's Sydney Morning Herald a suggestion that Mr Joinet thought Australian detention centres were the worst he had seen. I was surprised because those comments do not reflect either the words, or the tone of the meeting, I had with Mr Joinet and Mr Ban.

Mr Ruddock —Nor mine.

Mr DOWNER —The minister for immigration interjects, `Nor mine.' So either the Sydney Morning Herald misreported the comments of the working group or alternatively they made these criticisms to someone else and they have been reported accurately. But I do know that when the working group had the opportunity to meet with Australian ministers these points were not made. I told Mr Joinet and Mr Ban that Australia had no intention of changing our border protection and detention policies because to do so would undermine the integrity of our orderly migration system.

I was interested to see this morning, though, during the doorstop period when members and senators came into the parliament, that a leading figure in the Australian Labor Party—

Mr Martin Ferguson —You were on your way to tennis.

Mr DOWNER —On my way to tennis indeed. A leading member of the Australian Labor Party, Senator Cook, had apparently said that `when the world body criticises us we are bound to straighten up our act'. I bring that to the House's attention because this government is a government that, through our processes of democracy and our judicial system, works out the best way to handle these difficult problems and we pursue those measures in a constructive and a fulsome way. We do not run off to the United Nations asking how Australia should be run. One of the great contrasts between the Australian Labor Party and this government is that we make our own policies. The Labor Party has no policies and goes to Geneva and asks United Nations officials in Geneva what its policies should be. It is, if I may say so, a stark contrast.

This also underlines the truth of the Labor Party's position on illegal immigration and the issue of detention—that the Labor Party does not support the government's position. It went to the last election on a deception saying that it supported the government's position. I remind the House of what the member for Fremantle said straight after the election. The member for Fremantle, a leading member of the shadow cabinet, a former Premier, we remember, of Western Australia, said before the election:

If ever there was a giveaway, that was it. The Labor Party does not support the government's position; the public do. The member for Brand did at the time of the last election, and it is hardly surprising that he has already moved from the back bench to the interchange bench and it will not be long before he comes to the front of the front bench.