Julia Banks (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am so proud to rise today as representative of Chisholm, one of the country's most diverse electorates, and of immigrant heritage myself, to discuss the Turnbull government's citizenship reforms in the Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2017.

These reforms are about maintaining the integrity in our migration and citizenship programs. It is in the Liberal philosophy and in our DNA to support a nondiscriminatory immigration policy and to embrace and include those of migrant heritage. It is the Turnbull government that has always provided clear direction and policy in relation to ensuring any reforms are always made with one key consideration: what is in the best interests of Australians and future generations of Australians?

Reforms are just that, they reform existing laws. Reforms are to ensure that our laws are consistent with a modern Australia. Australian citizenship involves a clear commitment to this country, its people and our shared values. Australian citizenship is a privilege to be given by the Australian people. When you listen to the confected arguments by Labor, their views seem to align more to the view that citizenship is an individual right to be claimed rather than a privilege. It is not an individual right to be claimed; Australian citizenship is a privilege.

There are intrinsic links between migration, border protection and citizenship. It took the Turnbull government to clean up the chaotic mess Labor left the country in in relation to border protection. It is the Turnbull government that has provided strong and secure leadership. It is the Turnbull government that has maintained a nondiscriminatory migration policy and it is the Turnbull government that is tightening our citizenship laws to ensure maintaining the integrity of everything it means to be Australian and our Australian values.

Labor are hell-bent on creating division in the Australian community. They want to block this for the sake of blocking it. They are good at that. I have spoken to literally hundreds of people in my electorate of Chisholm whose ancestry is from all over the world. I say here today that just as Labor recently blocked the opportunity for Australians to have their say only a few hours ago on same-sex marriage—something which may not align with their cultural norms and values in their faith or religion—now they are blocking these reforms as well.

The people I represent in Chisholm know that I represent our Prime Minister's and our government's warm embrace of different cultures and languages, be they Chinese, Greek, Italian, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese or the like. They know that the Turnbull government's view is that being of a different ethnic origin is a fundamental pillar of 21st-century Australia. They know that the Turnbull government's focus is on building a strong economy and creating more jobs for Australians and working to encourage increased participation of women in the work force. They know that, above all, the strength and leadership of our Prime Minister is to do everything in our power to ensure our national security and keep all of us safe.

Importantly, the people of Chisholm know it is important to maintain public confidence in our migration and citizenship programs by demonstrating the government is committed to the highest level of integrity. Australian citizenship involves a commitment to this country, its people and our shared values, and it's a privilege to be given by the Australian people. There are several elements to these reforms, but fundamentally they are about ensuring that absolute priority is placed on respect for Australian values and demonstrating a willingness to integrate.

In my experience, it's the Labor Party and their union officials who do not hold back in discriminating, name-calling, assault and bullying. It's the Labor Party who use fear and scare tactics to try and win their argument no matter the issue, because they can't do it any other way. It's they who are quite happy to say that all Australians will engage in hateful debate in relation to issues such as same-sex marriage. And now the Labor Party are trying to confect an argument which makes no common sense for a modern Australia. Unbelievably, they are trying to argue against the reforms for which the clear objective is merely to harness the privilege it is to become an Australian citizen in modern Australia to ensure all aspiring citizens align to our values, integrate into our society and abide by one rule of law in this country. It is the Labor Party who would rather values and laws of other countries seep into our country's psyche—values and laws which fly in the very face of the Liberals' principle of equality for all.

Recently, an otherwise unremarkable scene in a Box Hill shopping centre in my electorate of Chisholm made memories come flooding back. I observed a young girl alternating between speaking Mandarin and English acting an interpreter for an elderly woman whom I assumed was her grandmother. This took me back to the 1970s, when as a young girl I would always act as my grandmother's interpreter. My grandma, like many migrants of her era, couldn't speak, read or write English at that time even though it was some 40 years since my grandparents had migrated and settled in Australia in the 1930s. Together they'd made their livelihood from their small business, a small fish and chips shop.

Grandpa was the front-of-shop man and, like many migrants to Australia, had on-the-job English lessons from his many customers, suppliers and work mates. Granny, on the other hand, worked just as hard in the business but was very much in the background and had the primary responsibility of raising the children. Theirs was a very typical arrangement for many migrants, where the woman either stayed in the home or worked in the small business behind the scenes or in jobs that didn't require communication in English. This meant they couldn't speak, read or write English, their independence was thwarted and their integration into the general community diminished. They couldn't learn to drive or access services. They were denied the most basic of things such as driving, and they were limited to jobs of unskilled labour.

There are many people who are still in this predicament. Our ageing population necessarily includes an ageing migrant population. In speaking to my constituents of immigrant non-English speaking heritage, be they Chinese, Indian, Greek or Italian, one of their worrying concerns is the isolation felt particularly by their parents and grandparents as they age, and it is glaringly worsened by the fact that they cannot speak English. This is particularly the case for migrant women, and a consequential benefit of the changes the Turnbull government is making with regard to proficiency in English will be a change in the scenario for future generations of Australian citizens.

There are those in the Labor Party who say their ancestors would not have passed the English test. The fundamental flaw in this argument is they're not comparing apples with apples. They are comparing the migrant experience of today to the migrant experience of up to 100 years ago. At that time, the participation of women in particular in the workforce was nowhere near what it is today. Increased participation of women in the workforce is necessary for our economic growth and to create true equality for future generations of those with immigrant heritage. There are many migrants today, particularly women, who still have no command of the English language, and, as a result, their independence and especially their financial independence is thwarted. Aspiring citizens of this country, male or female, can really only truly embrace the opportunities this country offers if they are competent in our national language, the English language.

Introducing a requirement for applicants to demonstrate competent English language through listening, speaking, reading and writing skills is essential for workforce participation. Contrary to Labor's fear-mongering and false claims, as we just heard from the member for Cowan, the higher-level academic test is not required for migration or citizenship purposes but rather a general training test at a competent level.

Specifying a requirement to sign an Australian values statement essentially requires applicants to make an undertaking to integrate into and contribute to the Australian community in accordance with Australian values, and we make no apologies for requiring this. Values based questions will be also be added. These are good reforms that align to the future of modern Australia, which, again, the Labor Party rejected, for the sake of it—they are just blocking this.

I'd like to demonstrate, just by one example, why I wholeheartedly endorse the signing of an Australian values statement. Earlier this year, I was on the stage at a local primary school, about to give out awards. I reminisced about my childhood at primary school and about taking my children to primary school on those February Melbourne mornings which indicated that a very hot February day was about to be upon us. I reflected that the sea of hundreds of young and excited faces before me represented a wonderful microcosm of the diverse population in Chisholm, one of the most culturally diverse electorates in the country. As the young students stood and sang our national anthem proudly, while senior students marched in the hall bearing our flag, there was a buzz and an air of excitement, as the students knew this was no ordinary Monday morning assembly. Proud parents lined the perimeter of the hall to watch the assembly as the children received their leadership badges.

As each student's name was announced they came up onto the stage, but I noticed that a few of the kids didn't know what to do. What I noticed more was how subtly and kindly the principal taught them—what is commonly called, in the business world, 'in-the-moment training'. To these students she quietly said, 'You need stop, look Julia in the eye, shake her hand and say, "Thank you," when she says, "Congratulations." Then you'll receive your badge.' The principal taught them an Australian tradition, a value, a principle, respect for the occasion and the honour of receiving an award.

MPs are routinely invited to such events, but this was no ordinary assembly for me either. The event stuck in my mind because it was in stark contrast to something which, only weeks before, had been depicted in a video, published on social media by an Islamic group, of two women, one of whom was also a primary school teacher, claiming that men were permitted to hit women and, for the Sydney schools that hadn't established an agreed protocol, that Muslim boys didn't need to shake the hands of female presenters or teachers. None of this is okay under Australian values. These attitudes have no place in modern Australia and represent a blatant disrespect of our laws and our values.

Equality for all is a core Australian value, and the Turnbull government has zero tolerance for those who endorse the breaking of laws, do not align to our values and commit crimes such as violence against women. All Australian values are underpinned by respect, which is demanded regardless of people's ethnicity or gender. The current Australian values statement includes an understanding of respect for freedom of the individual, freedom of religion and equality for all. And the English language, our national language, is an important unifying element of these values.

Finally, those on the other side weakly argue, 'It ain't broke, so don't fix it.' Indeed, it ain't broke. We are the most successful nation on earth because of the people of immigrant heritage—the people who, in the words of our national anthem, came across the seas and toiled with hearts and hands. This is not about fixing something that is broken. Rather, it is about harnessing the privilege of becoming an Australian citizen and cementing our success as an immigrant nation for future generations. It's about taking what has essentially become an administrative process to encourage a more meaningful participative journey which supports and enhances the lives of those who choose to become Australian citizens.

The Labor Party are merely doing the same old thing: disagreeing with change or reform for the political point scoring and for the purposes of being obstructionist or negative, whilst engaging in their Labor hypocrisy, saying one thing to people's faces but actually meaning another. To every person in my electorate of Chisholm, of any migrant heritage, regardless of whether they voted for me or not, I say: ignore the critics, the discrimination, the taunts and the name-calling like I've received from the Labor Party and the unions. Being an Australian citizen, being true blue and of an ethnically diverse background at the same time, is the foundation of 21st century Australia. The whole purpose of these reforms is to further build on our successful immigrant nation in the context of a more modern world. Part of the beauty and vibrancy of Australia's diversity is that we can freely and openly express our opinions in the context of our different cultures through different languages.

These freedoms are based on respect and equality for all, and speaking English is intrinsically linked to our culture. Equal opportunity is the hallmark of liberalism, and the modern overlay of requiring people to pass an English test and commit to our values is a core element of the Turnbull government's reforms. The Turnbull government's strengthening of our citizenship laws are practical and sensible reforms, whilst harnessing the integrity of a successful multicultural Australia. They convey that, to call Australia home and be a part of the Australian family, one must be able to speak our language, obey our laws and respect our values. And core to this is equality for men and women.

I am so proud that in Chisholm over 136 different languages are spoken every day. Chisholm includes the suburb of Oakleigh, which has earned the title of epicentre of Greek culture. Given my Greek heritage, Oakleigh is close to my heart. Also in Chisholm is the suburb of Box Hill, where roughly 100,000 people attend the magnificent Chinese New Year festival every year. Language is the key source of communication between people in different cultures, so it's not surprising that part of the beauty, vibrancy and diversity is that we can freely and openly express our different cultures. Notwithstanding the rich and vibrant diversity of cultures in Chisholm, and the concentration of certain cultural events and traditions in certain suburbs, the common bond is the values, laws and national language of our country.

Australian citizenship is a significant honour and brings with it responsibilities and privileges. It's the official welcome to our home. It has to be respected and earned. This is our Great Southern Land, an immigrant nation, the most successful multicultural nation on earth because of the millions of people who have come from lands far and wide. (Time expired)

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