Finance Minister Matthias Corman denied there had been any government deal with Senator Jacqui Lambie about the Medevac repeal legislation passed last week. On national security grounds, Senator Lambie remains silent about what she believes was promised. Speculation has been that pursuit of the New Zealand resettlement offer will be resumed once alternative options, such as the US transfers, have been exhausted. Home Affairs Minister Dutton has downplayed the NZ offer, emphasising the need to keep refugee boats stopped.
Labor’s Senator Keneally called for Minister Dutton to comment on how a national security briefing critical of the repealed Medevac legislation was leaked to News Corp and subsequently published. Home Affairs referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police, who have not been able to identify the source. Senator Keneally has asked the Minister to have all emails from one of his staff members who was in contact with the journalist who published the story handed over to police for examination.
In a speech at Deakin University, Labor backbencher Peter Khalil called for more tangible support for refugees from rich countries, including accepting significant numbers for resettlement, and substantial financial contributions from countries who refuse. He said the UN Global Refugee Forum next week is an opportunity to develop viable plans for the current crisis.
At the International Court of Justice hearing in The Hague, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was present to hear the case against Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention through its actions against the Rohingya people. The case alleges mass murder, rape and expulsion and seeks emergency measures to prevent further violence. It has been brought by The Gambia, supported by Canada, Netherlands and the 57-country Organisation for Islamic Cooperation. Only once previously – in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia – has the ICJ ruled that genocide was committed.