Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

How wonderful it is to have such support in the House today. I appreciate that all my colleagues here also appreciate how important this bill. So I am delighted to rise to speak on this bill, which of course is important to constituents Australia wide who want to see an end to the arrival of illegal boats and a satisfactory humanitarian solution to Labor's legacy of illegal maritime arrivals.

For my constituents in rural and remote parts of Australia's north-west, it is of special importance because it will benefit those seeking to fill job vacancies, those seeking to grow their business, those seeking longer term employees to become part of the community, and those that welcome ethnicity and diversity as a vibrant addition to the fabric of this multicultural community. And there are many in Durack.

The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill 2014 amends a number of acts and regulations—including the Migration Act and Regulations, the Maritime Powers Act, and the Immigration Act—in support of the government's strategies to combat people smuggling and to manage asylum seekers, both onshore and offshore. The bill fundamentally changes Australia's approach to managing asylum seekers in various ways, such as reinforcing maritime operations to stop people smuggling at sea; strengthening border security and maritime enforcement operations; introducing temporary protection for those who arrived in Australia illegally; introducing more rapid processing and helping to resolve protection applications efficiently; and, deterring the making of unmeritorious protection claims.

The measures in this bill are a continuation of the government's protection reform agenda and clarify that there will not be permanent protection for those who travel to Australia illegally. Essentially the bill is designed to resolve Labor's outrageous and callous legacy. Our government has designed a package of measures to resolve the immigration status of a caseload of 30,000 human beings who arrived illegally under the former Labor government. The bill honours our promise to restore border protection and immigration measures to stop the boats. These measures, successfully used under the Howard government, were abolished by the former Labor government, leading to the abhorrent unresolved caseload of 30,000 human beings just left waiting. The bill re-introduces temporary protection visas and, importantly, introduces a new safe haven enterprise visa, SHEV, which is also a temporary visa. The bill reinforces the government's powers to turn back boats and introduces rapid processing and streamlined review arrangements.

Specifically, the bill amends the Migration Act to (1)    introduce temporary protection visas for unauthorised arrivals, whether by air or by sea, who are found to engage Australia's protection obligations; and (2) create a new visa class to be known as a safe haven enterprise visa. The government is providing temporary protection to illegal maritime arrivals found to engage Australia's protection obligations. The temporary protection visa will be granted for a maximum of three years and will provide access to Medicare, social security benefits and work rights.

These people will be provided with stability and a chance to get on with their lives—which, of course, is the humanitarian thing to do—while at the same time guaranteeing that people smugglers do not have a 'permanent protection visa product' to sell to those who are thinking of travelling illegally to Australia. The temporary protection visa will be for a period of up to three years. Thereafter a person's circumstances will be re-examined and if found to still be owed protection by the Australian government will only be granted a further temporary protection visa or a safe haven enterprise visa, which is also a temporary visa.

I shall specifically speak to the new safe haven enterprise visa—or SHEV, as it will now be known—which points to mutual benefits for the visa holder and potentially for nominated communities and businesses throughout Australia. The SHEV, once created and promoted, has the potential to assist small business considerably, particularly in regional Australia; strengthen regional Australian communities; and also reward enterprise. Very importantly, it is also a temporary visa, but in addition to Medicare, social security benefits and work rights, it will encourage earning and learning as well. The holder of a SHEV, which is valid for five years, will work in designated regional regions. If after 3½ years the holder has worked without income support they can apply for onshore visas, such as family and skilled visas as well as temporary skilled and student visas.

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