Nickolas Varvaris (Barton, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to be able to speak on this important bill today. The Migration Amendment (Strengthening Biometrics Integrity) Bill 2015 is another important piece of legislation that is part and parcel of the coalition's immigration and border security reform. This important bill amends the Migration Act 1958 to implement an important set of reforms that will consolidate and simplify provisions in relation to the collection of personal identifiers, known as biometrics, that are no longer adequate in our current legislative framework.

Biometrics are unique identifiers based on individual physical characteristics—facial image, fingerprints and the iris of the eye. These identifiers are digitised into a biometric template to be used for checking in the customs process. This, along with other stored biographical data, such as name, age, nationality and date of birth, are used together to verify identity during security, law enforcement and immigration processes.

Whilst documented information such as name, location and nationality can change or be manipulated, biometric characters are not so easily changed. This is not without exception, given that facial images can shift over time due to age, facial reconstructions and so forth; however, fingerprints will always remain stable and reliable. Having personal identifiers which are dependable is essential to detecting fraud and illegal activities, and it will enable the proper security, law enforcement and immigration checks at customs points, prior to granting a visa, at various checkpoints and locations throughout Australia, and prior to arrival at Australian borders.

Given the number of travellers throughout Australia and the world and the means by which people now travel, we must not have antiquated systems that would hinder the security of our nation. Australia is an enviable place in the global community and, whilst the majority of travellers and residents arrive and depart legally and without need for further examination, there are those who flout the rules and seek to undermine Australian law and order. Global mobility is at a historical high, and documented details simply are not enough to ascertain true identity and purpose for being in this country. Similarly, recent domestic and international threats to our security only further highlight the need for our legislative framework to be agile in response to terror alerts and other criminal activities.

Whilst stored biographic details of an individual can be manipulated relatively easily, biometric characteristics are likely to remain stable over time, as they are more difficult to forge and are therefore a more reliable identity check. Having biometrics as part of our immigration and border security system has worked well to ensure Australia is a safe nation, because such identifiers are an important integrity measure which contributes to protecting Australia's border, and preventing the entry of those who threaten the Australian community. Furthermore, biometric allows the capacity to precisely verify a person's true identity against who they claim to be, and to discover any potential links to illegal activities.

As I touched on before, recent terrorism related events in Australia and globally serve to remind us that the threat of a domestic terrorist attack remains very real. This bill has come at a time when we need to strengthen our border protection measures. We must enable our border security agencies, backed by our departments, to identify persons seeking to enter or leave Australia, both citizens and noncitizens.

Although Australia's biometric program has expanded over time, recent developments domestically and internationally mean we must assess our existing framework to ensure it still meets the objectives of our border security measures. Since 2006, the needs and demands of this system have transformed at a rapid scale from obtaining fingerprints of illegal foreign fishers through to offshore visa applicants in high-risk locations and non-citizens being refused entry at airports. Our broader protection immigration efforts have been effective but this bill today allows it to be updated and strengthened so we can continue to protect our country.

Unfortunately, changes in geopolitical security landscapes are at home and afar does mean that this bill needs to be implemented with urgency and, as such, given the scope and necessity of this bill, I would hope that all members of this House support this important piece of reform.

I have outlined broadly why this bill is so crucial. Aside from threats of terror and other security violations in Australia as previously mentioned, fluctuations in asylum seekers, refugees and cases of human trafficking and other illegal activities mean that we must remain vigilant with appropriate resources to determine true identities of individuals. It is important to note that with fewer visa applications done through face-to-face meetings, online transactions must require a reliable form of identity check to ascertain true identity. Whilst technology has enabled unprecedented flexibility and efficiency in the way in which we perform our national security checks, this must not come at the expense of due diligence. The security of our nation is always of paramount concern to our security agencies and law enforcement officers and, as such, this bill is another aspect of fortifying our existing security framework to achieve our national objectives.

We cannot let incidents of foreign fighters who have radicalised return to our shore without detection to further preach hatred and incite violence within our communities. To risk-manage this, an enhanced biometric system is needed. We can also not allow children or individuals to potentially be trafficked through our borders through due to a substandard biometric framework.

Whilst personal current personal identify measures have exposed fraudulent activities, unfortunately the level of sophistication and technology to allow illegal passage through our borders puts a strain on the resources of our border security agencies every day. As politicians and law-makers, it is rightfully our responsibility to ensure the task base for our front-line operators is backed by the appropriate resources.

In addition, looming war and civil crisis elsewhere in the world has created mass migrations of displaced groups of humans seeking refuge. In order to protect the most vulnerable while sustaining our border security, strengthening our biometric system will ensure that those applying for relevant visas have their real identities checked and that they do not have the protection under other identities in other nations. Fundamentally, we must take a risk based approach in the management of our borders. Ensuring our border and migration policies are implemented with integrity is in the best interests of Australia. The amendments made in this bill will further support changes already introduced last year under the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters Act), which I have also spoken on, which precisely examines the issues of radicalised individuals travelling to other nations in allegiance with terrorist organisations. We have been well aware of how this can happen as we noted in the case of terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, who left Australia using his brother's passport. Australia has zero tolerance for this; certainly constituents in my electorate of Barton are appalled at the level of manipulation and deceit conducted by some individuals.

Today's bill also supports the Prime Minister's statement last month about the need for further legislation to combat terror threats to be expedited. Specifically, the bill allows for six distinct provisions; and streamlines seven existing personal identifier collection powers into a broad, discretionary power to collect one or more biometrics from both non-citizens and citizens at our borders. This bill will also provide flexibility on types of personal identifier required, and how and where they are to be collected. Personal identifiers will also be obtained orally, in writing or through an automated system, and allow collection from minors and incapable individuals without consent or need adults or guardians to be present.

Lastly, the bill will also ensure unnecessary and unused provisions will be omitted. The bill also allows for manual finger print based checks to be conducted using mobile, hand-held devices to detect individuals of concern. These will take place in airports and seaports for approximately 30 seconds. The aim is to have the identity of the traveller checked against immigration and security data of up to four finger images. These will not be held on file when the check is completed.

I want to take this opportunity to clarify that whilst this bill consists of large reforms, it is not designed to be a universal biometrics collection policy. As mentioned previously, it will serve to further underscore the coalition's efforts in strengthening our immigration and border securities and that the technology that has served the nation well continues to do this. The majority of the travellers are law abiding people so it is not about allocating further resources to those groups of people. However, considering a large number of non- citizens in the past have not had appropriate identity, security and criminal history checks due to how they arrived or when they arrived, this can pose potential threats to our community if this was to remain our protocol. In fact, less than two per cent of non-citizens granted a visa were checked via our biometrics system in 2013-14. In light of recent events at home and abroad, these statistics are worrying and quite low. Our agencies need to have the ability to cross-check any information presented to them to vet potential terror threats alighting from a vessel or aircraft, or departing from them. The safety of all constituents in our communities is top priority.

Today's bill allows for a streamlined approach to biometrics integrity to allow flexibility and efficiency whereas, previously, separate collections of personal identifiers had to be authorised and under particular circumstances. In order to respond to shifting security settings, a broad discretionary power is more appropriate. The potential spread of terrorism and human trafficking is too great a threat and risk to ignore.

The coalition has an outstanding record of achievement in immigration and border security. At the centre of all our legislative reform is the safety of this nation, its citizens and communities. This bill plays an integral role in achieving this through the prevention of at-risk individuals entering or leaving the country undetected. This bill expands the scope of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's capabilities to distinguish the true identity of individuals through biometric checks, which are more stable and reliable than document based ones. The ability to create a new legislative framework for collecting personal identifiers contributes significantly to improved decision making and risk management of our border security. Recent events at home and abroad have deemed this bill essential to keeping our nation safe, and I look forward to support from all members of parliament by commending this bill today.

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