Australia is continuing to push for the safe repatriation of hundreds of thousands of displaced Rohingya people to Myanmar.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said more than 700,000 Rohingya people who have poured across the border to Bangladesh to escape Myanmar's troubled Rakhine should be allowed to return with safety and dignity.
"Of course they should be repatriated but at a time when it is safe for them to return," Ms Bishop told ABC radio on Monday.
"We would need confirmation - a guarantee from Myanmar - that it would be safe for the Rohingyas to return."
Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong agreed it would be unwise for any Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar until it is safe for them.
Members of the UN Security Council have heard evidence from Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh about a campaign of violence, rape and arson they endured at the hands of Myanmar's military.
Ms Bishop met with the prime minister of Bangladesh at the weekend to discuss the Rohingya crisis, who expressed concern it was not yet safe for them to return and asked for more humanitarian support.
Australia has agreed to provide an extra $15 million to support the delivery of food, shelter and health services to Rohingya people living in the Cox's Bazar area in Bangladesh, in addition to $31.5 million already provided.
The minister said she was continuing to engage with Mynanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to allow an independent investigation to take place.
"And for her to show global leadership and allow the Rohingyas to return," Ms Bishop said.
Share
