Migration Amendment (Bridging Visa Conditions) Bill 2023

Andrew Giles

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

This morning I introduced into the House, in response to the NZYQ High Court decision, legislation proposing urgent amendments to the Migration Act and its regulations to provide for the effective management of noncitizens required to be released by reason of the decision of the court. From the moment the High Court handed down its decision we've been implementing measures to keep the Australian community safe. Tonight, these amendments take a further step forward in that regard.

The safety of the Australian community has always been and always will be an absolute priority for the Australian government. While the Commonwealth argued that the previous detention settings were constitutionally valid, the High Court's decision required the release of the plaintiff in that case and similarly affected people in immigration detention. This decision has, of course, significant implications for immigration compliance and for the community safety obligations of the government, to which this bill responds, noting that we still await reasons from the court and noting that further work will be required to be done in this regard.

Community protection is of course a fundamental priority, and the measures included in the bill are fundamental to providing the legislative framework to support this outcome, and the work of the Senate, which I'll go to in a moment, is critical in that regard. I say to all members: the safety of the community was at the forefront of consideration in bringing this bill, as amended, to the House. I say, too, that the Australian community expects that noncitizens who do not meet the requirements for migration to Australia will not undertake activities or engage in further offending that harm the community and could prejudice the Australian government's ability to facilitate their removal from Australia. Of course, as publicly reported, the caseload includes certain individuals with very serious criminal histories.

I want to thank the opposition for their constructive engagement over the course of today—a long day—working through a statement of principles into a number of amendments that have been passed in the other place. Some were introduced by the opposition, others by the government. They provide for additional visa conditions on former detainees. They strengthen the offence provisions and they also provide for more effective monitoring and management of individuals required to be released. In essence, they present, together with the provisions in the bill as introduced this morning, important measures that give effect to our shared desire and determination to protect the Australian community. Noting that many of the members of this cohort have been found to be serious criminals who can no longer be placed in detention following the decision of the court, what the bill as amended will do, having regard to the decision of the court—as we await further details of when the reasons for the decision will be handed down—and on the basis of the advice we've been provided, is allow the government to provide appropriate and proportionate monitoring of this cohort whilst they are required to be in the Australian community.

The amendments that I seek the support of all members for take this bill a few steps further. They recognise fundamentally the shared objective of keeping the community safe and the shared sense of urgency that I think unites all members in response to these circumstances. On that basis I commend the bill, as amended, to the House and urge support for the amendments.

Dan Tehan

It's been a long week—a week which has ended up a lot longer than any of us thought would need to be the case. We've seen throughout the week, and especially today, some outstanding leadership. The Leader of the Opposition is not here with us tonight—

Government Members

Government members interjecting—

Milton Dick

Order! Members on my right will cease interjecting immediately. Members on my right will cease interjecting, and the Leader of the Nationals will cease interjecting.

Dan Tehan

The Leader of the Opposition, who's not here, needs to be acknowledged for the leadership that he showed today. His previous experience in the Home Affairs portfolio came to the fore today, and the opposition was able to put forward six amendments. I must acknowledge the Acting Prime Minister and the government for working cooperatively with the opposition so that we're now in this place where we've taken some significant steps to keep the community safe. We still think there are further steps that need to be taken, but that's a debate for another day, not for right here and now. What we need to do now is see these amendments come into law, because there are people out in the community who have been deeply concerned this week. In particular, there have been people out in the community who were impacted by the 84 detainees who have been released into the community who were fearful.

Can I once again say to the media: thank you for your reporting during the week, because you've highlighted a lot of that fear and a lot of that concern, and I think you have played a significant role in us being here tonight as well. I would like to say to the minister: we give our full support to these amendments. Without further ado, we look forward to voting for them.

Government members interjecting—

Milton Dick

Order! Members on my right will cease interjecting, including the member for Bruce. I give the call to the Leader of the Australian Greens.

Adam Bandt

():  These amendments make a bad bill worse. They should be opposed. And if you're after a clue about why that is the case, look no further than the fact that Labor has let the Leader of the Opposition write the laws of this country. After a misleading scare campaign led by the Leader of the Opposition that was aimed at calling on the government to do something they couldn't do because, as we believe in the separation of powers, the High Court had made its ruling.

Nonetheless, they ran a misleading fear campaign and the government caved and let the Leader of the Opposition write the laws of this country.

Milton Dick

The Leader of the Australian Greens will resume his seat. The member for Cowper will cease interjecting or be warned. The Leader of the Australian Greens has the call.

Adam Bandt

And, in doing that, there wasn't any principle that Labor wasn't prepared to throw overboard. This is a broken election promise from the government, because Labor went to the election with this as its platform:

Labor opposes mandatory sentencing. In substituting the decisions of politicians for those of judges, mandatory sentencing undermines the independence of the judiciary. It leads to unjust outcomes and is often discriminatory in practice. Mandatory sentencing does not reduce crime, and leads to perverse consequences that undermine community safety, such as by making it more difficult to successfully prosecute criminals.

That is what it took to the Australian people. Then, after a few days of pressure from the Liberals running a misleading scare campaign, blaming the government for something that wasn't its fault, the government caved.

We all accept that there are responsibilities that we have in this place where we have to have a balancing act. And no-one in this place condones the kinds of crimes that have been referred to during the course of this debate. But our responsibility here in this place is to work out how to apply the rule of law. The Leader of the Opposition has spent a career demonising refugees and migrants and punching down on people, so when he comes to this place and mounts another scare campaign, the role of this place should be to pause and should be to consider and to say, 'What has the High Court said to us?' The High Court has said that indefinite detention cannot be used as a warehouse to store people forever, and that if you want to have a sensible immigration detention system you need one that isn't based on locking people up forever. Indefinitely. That's what it said.

In response to that, what should have happened is we should have come back here and had a reasoned, considered debate about how to deal with the High Court making a significant point, that you shouldn't just be able to lock someone up forever. You shouldn't be able to do it. That's what the High Court has said. The opposition might not like that, but that's what the High Court has said. In response to that, it's incumbent on all of us to have a reasoned debate about how to manage the principles of the rule of law, the High Court, needs of community safety and fairness towards people. But that's not what's happened here. What's happened here is a scare campaign whipped up by the Leader of the Opposition, and the government gave into it to the extent of chucking their own platform overboard.

I expect it will be an interesting conversation with a number of Labor Party branch members when they ask: 'Why did our platform not even survive a year and a bit in government?' I'd urge the Labor Party not to engage in a race to the bottom with the Leader of the Opposition because there is nothing the Leader of the Opposition won't do. He'll keep going lower, and lower, and lower! And we've heard that this is just the start. If the government introduces a bill, they say that it isn't good enough, 'You have to breach your party policy.' And if they do that, they come back and say, 'Well, let's do even more!' Until this government has the spine and has the courage to have a debate about principles, and not give in to a fear campaign, it's going to get worse. The Leader of the Opposition is going to change this country more and more for the worse.

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick

Order, members on my left! The question before the House is that the amendments be agreed to.