Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I thank members for their contributions to the debate on the second reading of the Migration Amendment (Maritime Crew) Bill 2007, although I note that many of those contributions have been about matters outside the scope of the bill rather than about the substance of the bill itself. This bill creates the legal framework for a new temporary visa, to be known as the maritime crew visa. It will provide the crew of non-military ships with the legal authority to travel to Australia, enter by sea and remain in Australia in connection with work on their ships. The new visa arrangements will replace the special purpose visas that are currently granted by operation of law to the crew of non-military ships. Significantly, the application process for the new visa will enable crew members to be appropriately security cleared before a visa is granted.

It should be noted that the measures in this bill are not designed to single out maritime crew for more onerous security checking compared to other people. Rather, these measures are about placing the crew of non-military ships on the same footing as other visa applicants, all of whom have to satisfy certain security and character requirements before a visa can be granted. As with most other visas, the detail governing the new maritime crew visa will be set out in the migration regulations. Care will be taken to ensure that this regulatory framework accommodates as far as possible the needs of industry. For example, it is anticipated the new visa will be able to be applied for online, and there will be no charge for the visa. Shipping agents will also be able to apply for the visa on behalf of crew members.

There were a couple of suggestions made in the debate by honourable members opposite—for example, that there are currently no security arrangements for the crew of non-military maritime ships. Indeed, under the current special purpose visa regime, crew biodata are made available at the time a ship is about to arrive in Australia. The requirements vary depending on the length of the ship’s journey, from 12 hours before arriving to 96 hours before arriving. At this time, crew names are checked against the movement alert list before entry. So there is checking currently, but these new measures are more adequate than those that exist at the present time.

It has also been suggested that it has taken a long time to introduce this amendment. There have been no difficulties previously encountered when dealing with the maritime industry in Australia, but as a matter of prudence and to bring the maritime crew industry into line with Australia’s universal visa system it was considered appropriate to introduce a visa for maritime crew which involved a formal application process for foreign crew of non-military ships seeking to enter Australia. On that note, I find it interesting that the criticism of a delay in relation to this matter is accompanied by the decision of the opposition to seek to refer this to a Senate committee and therefore delay further a matter which generally they support.

In summary, the measures in this bill will help strengthen the integrity of Australia’s borders while being responsive to the needs of maritime crew and the shipping industry as a whole. I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context