Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise and speak in support of this private member's bill moved by my friend and colleague, the member for Fadden. Serving in the armed forces, as he knows, is an admirable commitment, but it is a commitment made not only by the person wearing the uniform but also by their partners, families and children, who demonstrate remarkable courage in difficult circumstances and each make a sacrifice for our country in their own unique way. As a nation, we have an obligation to our servicemen and women, but also to their families who so graciously share their loved ones with us. In his famous letter of condolence to Mrs Bixby on the death of her five sons in the civil war, US President, Abraham Lincoln, wrote of:

… the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

To serve our nation, our soldiers and their families make a tremendous contribution and sacrifice.

Australia has a proud military history. The values that underscore that history are etched into stone at Isurava: values of endurance, mateship, sacrifice and courage. On the home front, the families know this as well. The spouses and children left behind wait by the phone and cross off each day on the calendar until their mother or father or loved ones come home. Each day, our soldiers risk their lives to protect this nation and safeguard our freedom, in our name and under our flag—and, far too often, they die protecting those values. We have a duty to support their families through thick and thin, but it is more important than that—it should be an honour. It should be something we willingly and openly pursue.

Furthermore, we as a country are privileged that hundreds of skilled servicemen and women who have served in the armed forces of other nations choose to migrate to Australia to join our ADF and fight under our flag for the freedoms we share and hold dear. Where gaps open up within our own ranks, the Australian Defence Force often looks to recruit personnel from overseas militaries to fulfil these critical capabilities across the Navy, Army and Airforce. These recruits are known as lateral transfers and they bring with them a high level of skill and qualifications that, realistically, could take over a decade for the Australian Defence Force to match by recruiting, training and upskilling personnel. Often, these skill needs must be met in a timely manner, so having the ability for these personnel, who already possess and practice the skills required, to transfer in from other militaries saves the government valuable time and resources.

Our lateral transfer recruits are drawn largely from the United Kingdom, but also from New Zealand, South Africa and, in recent years, the United States. According to research by Defence Families of Australia, lateral transferees usually bring their families and dependents with them to relocate to Australia. Currently, the Australian Citizenship Act makes some provision under sections 21 and 23 to accelerate citizenship for those transferees, but the same arrangements do not exist for their spouse or dependants. The coalition introduced the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Defence Service Requirements) Bill 2012 into the House on Monday 21 May in an effort to synchronise these arrangements.

Under this bill, spouses and dependant children of lateral transfer members will be eligible for citizenship at the same time as the ADF members. This legislation will make sure that, by virtue of their citizenship, families and children of these troops will not unduly suffer, whether financially or otherwise, if that transfer member is killed in combat or in training, or leaves the family because of divorce. These are all tragic circumstances. Living with any of those scenarios would be a heavy burden to bear. It should not be the case that these moments of grief are unduly compounded for the family by financial concerns or fears, or by having to uproot and leave their home in Australia.

I note that the government has, in direct response, been shamed into introducing a carbon copy of this bill that is before the House today, rather than simply supporting this measure, and, if there are amendments that the government wants to put forward, approaching the coalition in order to see those amendments adopted, and graciously agreeing to what is a good idea. This government has sought, as we have just heard, to oppose this bill in this place in a petty and small-minded way to try to claim credit for a matter they have not sought to bring into this parliament.

In fact, it is worse than that: I note that in a letter from the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship to the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel in relation to these matters, where Minister Snowdon had sought exactly the type of arrangements that are put forward in this bill, the minister for immigration says, 'I do not consider it necessary to amend the citizenship legislation taking all these factors into account.' So we have the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship who has stonewalled this measure for some time—a minister for immigration and citizenship who, as we learned today, is also at odds with his own Prime Minister on other matters. We have a minister for immigration and citizenship who seems unable to find anyone in this government who can agree with him on many matters, and particularly on this important one.

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