Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am speaking today on the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Biometrics Integrity) Bill 2015, which seeks to expand biometric data gathering and checks at borders in order to tackle threats such as Australians seeking to travel overseas to fight with terrorist organisations like Islamic State or Daesh. There is no doubt that biometrics is a key tool in our ability to combat terrorism and fraud and I therefore wholeheartedly support the bill.

When we talk to people in our electorates and around this country, I think the vast majority of people are not concerned at all about this and that they welcome the moves to make this country a safer and more secure place. I am convinced that is exactly the position of the vast majority of Australians. But it is true that there is a long history of people who seek to conceal their identities from authorities and decision makers, particularly with regard to matters of migration. There are those who attempt to use false documents, there are those who destroy their own documents and there are also those who suggest that they, or children with them, are someone they are not.

I see measures like those in this bill will help to stop terrorists and criminals entering this country and will also help combat human trafficking. Recent events have clearly demonstrated that there is a domestic terrorist threat in this country and we must be able to properly identify those seeking to leave to join terrorist organisations as well as those returning. This bill takes further action to strengthen Australia's border protection measures by enhancing the capability of the department to identify persons seeking either to enter or depart Australia and noncitizens who remain in Australia.

I would make the point that I believe there are some in this country who absolutely do support terrorist organisations like Daesh, also known as Islamic State. Of course, most would be Sunni Muslims like Daesh, but the threat remains of this fundamentally quiet support becoming much more, such as has been seen in Melbourne or Sydney. I think the vulnerability of young Muslim Australians to the message of Daesh is often because their families do not feel comfortable talking about it. It is a hush moment or a shhhh moment rather than family members saying, 'Daesh is evil. Daesh is wrong, and this is why.' It is in that sort of environment where social media can fill gaps, and it is filled too often with the slick advertising from that evil and sub-human philosophy that is Daesh. But I divert from the bill, and the matters that I have talked about are covered elsewhere in the government's plans.

It is important to talk about how much better biometrics are in terms of being personal identifiers rather than biographical document information. Biometrics include individual physical characteristics such as facial image, fingerprints and iris, which are established into a biometric file for automated storage so that they can be accessed digitally for checking.

This is, of course, not an initiation. This is something that is not new as a principle, but rather is an enhancement of what can be collected. In terms of noncitizen, biometric collection started back in 2006 and in 2010 such information began being gathered for those applying for protection who were already in Australia and for higher-risk-country applicants offshore. The drive for this is based entirely on risk.

I will go to the specifics of the measures involved but, like others, I would like to highlight the very real and recent example of why biometrics are so important. Everyone will remember the case of Khaled Sharrouf, a known terrorist and sadly an Australian citizen. In December 2013 he was able to leave the country by using his brother's passport. This could have been prevented if the capability to use fingerprint checks had been provided in the past. This bill will enable that to happen in the future. It will be a great step forward to be able to have a person place their fingers on a mobile scanner and shortly afterwards receive biometric confirmation of their identity or who they really are. This is good for Australians and good for the safety and integrity of this nation. This is legitimate and appropriate. The passage of this bill will enable airports or ports to carry out manual fingerprint based checks using these mobile hand-held devices in order to detect persons of concern. It is important to state that they will be checked against databases of law enforcement or security agencies but not kept. So let us remember that it is checking and not collection.

It is a fact that some people decide not to advise the department's officials of all relevant information or their backgrounds. The ability to be aware of a person's relevant background is what we need to combat the proliferation of terrorism and attempts at human trafficking and to ensure that our humanitarian intake and immigration system as a whole has greater integrity.

When I was in the Australian Federal Police in the 1980s, people who were on the alert system would occasionally try to board flights at international airports and they would be stopped either at immigration control or, on occasion, we would even take them off aircraft before the aircraft departed. The technology has increased since those days as have the threats. Through these measures of additional checks the threats or problems can be acted upon quickly and people that are a risk to this country can be stopped leaving or entering.

There is nothing wrong but everything right with gathering the tools to help us combat identity crime and immigration fraud. As the minister said in his speech, some people have returned, or at least tried to return, using assumed identities to avoid being held to account for their activities that saw them deported in the past, or they have even tried to upgrade to Australia when they had already achieved protection in safe third countries.

I know that there are concerns that have been argued about the removal of the restrictions in the Migration Act surrounding the collection of biometric information on minors. We should remember, and critics should also remember, that there are no restrictions at our borders on collecting biometric data on minors or incapable people. What is proposed is that we should have the ability to collect that information at the time the visa is being applied for. I support this as being another tool for us to combat child trafficking and smuggling.

I do not see a problem in collecting information such as fingerprints, which are fairly consistent through life, as this will help us check international lists of missing or abducted children. It is also true that minors have been involved with terrorist activities; and if they return to or try to leave Australia they still represent a threat, and that threat can be addressed through these measures.

It is true that the government has asked the department and indeed federal agencies to achieve a great deal to support our national security. It is through this bill and others that we are helping them to achieve our plans. This bill, apart from facilitating checking of the data, also helps to streamline collection of biometric information from those that have acted in a manner which is of concern after their arrival and once they are living in the community. There is a real problem that many noncitizens have not had sufficient checks upon them—in particular, identity and criminal checks—because of when they arrived and how, so this bill will help there as well.

We should take note that in the last financial year not even two percent provided biometric information. It is therefore the case that very few arrivals have been checked since biometric technology has started being used. That being said, part of this enhanced collection process will apply to suspicion of activities such as identity fraud, breaches of visa conditions or failing to disclose adverse information when applying for visas.

To conclude, it is true that some people as individuals or with the support of sophisticated technology are attempting to beat our systems. It is therefore important that our biometric capabilities be continually assessed and upgraded to defeat the threats and keep this nation safer. I emphasise that this provides a better system for collection of fingerprints and other biometric data but it is not a policy that requires mass or total biometric collection.

Those that try to suggest that this is some sort of Orwellian threat to privacy are utterly wrong. This is legislative change to provide the best protection we as a government can for the people. The threat is real and we have seen it in terrorist related activities in Australia for years, and in the participation in terrorist activities by Australians overseas as well.

This is also not an over-18 issue only. Minors have been involved and pose a threat as well. That is not to say that minors are not being protected by measures such as the enhanced ability that we will achieve in helping to combat abduction and trafficking of minors as well.

I endorse this bill and will welcome its passage when the time comes.

See this speech in context