Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I join with the minister in saying that our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, colleagues and comrades of Brett Forte, who tragically was gunned down. It goes to show just how important now our security forces are in this country—our police services. I also join the minister in thanking the men and women of Border Force and the immigration department for the work they do. It is often a thankless task and is difficult at times. It is challenging, it is physically demanding and they do not get the respect and gratitude they deserve. So I join with the minister in thanking them for the work they do.

Minister, during the federal election campaign the coalition followed Labor's lead in announcing a new temporary parent visa. The coalition promised, and I quote from the policy document, that 'adult children would be required to pay a bond'. But the minister has since announced that adult children will need to pay a fee, not a bond, and that fee will be $10,000 for five years and $5,000 for three years. It is expected to raise $99 million for the budget coffers over the forward estimates. The minister has said in his department's 'frequently asked questions' page that the new visa seeks to address long-standing community concerns about waiting times under existing parent visa arrangements. We know that the department has confirmed that there has been no modelling and no additional resources in relation to these visas. Migrant community stakeholders also confirmed during the election campaign that the minister's office confirmed that there would be no cap on the visa, because it would be under the visitor visa stream, but the budget estimates confirm a cap of 15,000. The policy has not been fleshed out, with the department saying in Senate estimates that 'we have not specified that to that degree'.

When asked about the types of health bills families may receive on top of the health insurance obligations, what is worse is that migrant communities are now in the tough position of having to choose between parents and parents-in-law, because only one set of parents is allowed to be sponsored at one time. There was no mention of that before the election.

Why did the minister tell migrant communities one thing before the election and now deliver another with the new temporary sponsored parent visa? Why did the minister abandon his commitment to a bond and introduce a fee? What does the minister say in response to criticism by migrant communities that, by charging a fee rather than a bond, the government is simply raising revenue on the back of adult children who want to reunite with their mums and dads? Why is the minister making families choose between parents and parents-in-law? Was this suggested by stakeholders or was it just an arbitrary decision made by the minister? What advice does the minister have for families who need to have a difficult conversation about which parents get reunited with their children? How should parents make the choice between parents and parents-in-law? Why didn't the minister mention any of this before the election? Minister, what does 'accepting legal liability for any outstanding public health debt their sponsored parents accrue' mean? Their parents will have already taken out health insurance. Will families be left with a huge unexpected health bill? Why is the minister announcing a new visa if his department has not worked out all the kinks? Does the minister accept that members of migrant communities may feel misled by the Turnbull government? Minister, simply, why have you broken your promise to migrant communities with respect to parent visas?

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