Senator RICE (Victoria—Deputy Australian Greens Whip) (09:49): I want to reiterate the Greens' support for this suspension of standing orders, because this issue is urgent. Although the current measures are due to expire on 15 May, it is quite possible for the minister to roll them over and to continue to attack the rights of Australians to come home. Citizens of Australia being able to return to their home country is a fundamental right. That is what is at stake, and that's what there has been ministerial override of. Whether this is an appropriate action for this government to be taking is an issue that this parliament—and, in particular, this Senate—needs to decide on. We feel very strongly that it is not. The minister has acted in a way to disallow people coming home, to block the borders and to keep Australians in India, where they are becoming sick and dying from COVID. Australian citizens are dying because they are not being allowed to return home to Australia. This is absolutely an urgent issue that we must address, because there are Australians who are dying in India because of the actions and failures of this government. We know that Australians would be able to return home if we had put the appropriate quarantine facilities in place. It just beggars belief. I do not understand why the federal government has not accepted its constitutional responsibility to deal with quarantine. All this government needed to do was to actually act as a federal government to put appropriate quarantine facilities in place so that Australians would be able to return home, but it has refused to do that. It seems that it's refused to do that because it's left it up to the states so that, if things go wrong, it can blame the states. You, the Morrison government, have abrogated your responsibility to keep Australians safe by not investing in quarantine facilities. We could have quarantine facilities like Howard Springs. I have not heard a bad word about the experience of people who have been through the Howard Springs quarantine facility. We should and we could have facilities like that right around the country, but this government has just said no. It is not putting the investment in and it is not taking responsibility for that. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Rice, please resume your seat. Senator Hanson? Senator Hanson: Point of order: urgency of the motion, please. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Hanson. I have been listening carefully, and I was just about to remind Senator Rice that we are dealing with the move to suspend, not the substantive nature of the bill. Senator RICE: It's urgent because people are dying, and it's urgent because this measure that the government has put in place could be rolled over in just a few days time. It is critical. This is our last day here for a month, and we know that there's the possibility that this government could just roll over this issue and keep Australians away from home—lock them out from home—while they are getting sick and they are dying in India. Isn't the fact that people are dying one of the most urgent things we could possibly be considering here? The fate of Australians who should be able to come home is why this is urgent. That's why we need to be discussing this today. The Morrison government has failed to put in place appropriate quarantine facilities. If we don't discuss this motion today, what pressure is there on the federal government to actually put in place the appropriate quarantine facilities? If we don't discuss this today, we will just go on, for another few months, basically blocking our borders to Australians—blocking Australians from their constitutional right to be able to come home. This is absolutely urgent. This is absolutely right at the core of what this Senate should be discussing, because this Senate is here as a watch on government. We are here as a chamber to oversight what happens. We are here in control of our own destiny. This legislation is entirely appropriate for discussion today; it should be discussed today. We need to have measures in place so that we can keep Australians safe. We need to have measures in place that allow appropriate quarantine facilities. We need to keep the pressure up on this government to set up quarantine facilities like Howard Springs right across the country to allow Australians who are in India to come home. If we don't, then it is on the heads of this government when more people die. I just want to finish up by saying we did not put measures in place like this when COVID was racing through Europe. The only reason this measure has been put in place is because it is India—because this government does not see Indian Australians as Australians; it sees them as Indians. This is a racist measure that this government has put in place. It is impacting upon people who are of Indian heritage and— (Time expired) The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: The question is that the motion to suspend standing orders, as moved by Senator Patrick, be agreed to.