Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The government has introduced the Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill because we made a commitment to the Australian people that we would ensure citizenship is much more than formal privileges. We live in the greatest country in the world. Often, when I'm out and about I thank the older people in my electorate, those senior people, for the wonderful country that they've left me and younger people—like the people in the gallery up here above. Without those older Australians, those generations before us that have left us with the greatest country in the world, the young people—my children and other young people—wouldn't have the country we do today. But we can't take that for granted. Those opposite take it for granted: 'We can't change anything. We can't make any changes, because they're unfair.' I want to make sure that those young people watching up there today, and the young people in my electorate that I represent, continue to have the best country in the word.

The key changes to strengthen requirements for citizenship include the English test, increasing the general residence requirement and making sure that the unelected AAT don't have more say than the minister. With the English test, I believe the Labor Party sells migrants short. They sell them short: 'Oh, they can't pass it. They'd never been able to pass it.' What rubbish! They sell these people short. It is so important to ensure integration into the workplace, and not just into the workplace but social integration as well, by being able to speak English, being able to write English and having a bit of history and understanding of our great nation. It is terribly important. At the moment, it's a simple 20-question multiple-choice test and some of the questions are quite reasonable. They need to go through them. They need to study, but there is no English test requirement. And those opposite say it's not needed. Yet the member for Watson said something completely different.

Increasing the general residency requirement—and the assistant minister before named many countries that have a lot more than 12 months' permanent residency, including Canada at four years. We want to make it that there's a minimum of four years' permanent residency. In the last three years, over 1,100 people with permanent residency have had their visa cancelled for offences, including murder, manslaughter and rape. So over 1,100 people in the last four years have had their permanent residency cancelled for those crimes. Once a person is a citizen, we can't send them back. We can't cancel their visa. Once they're a citizen, that's it: they're here to stay. There are many in our community today who became citizens under old rules, who have committed crimes and are unable to be sent back. It is important that we make this change so that we are in line with other countries, like Germany, New Zealand, France, the UK and Canada, that all have four years-plus. At the moment, 12 months is not long enough. And those opposite, rather than being political, could make amendments. They could go and talk to the minister about it.

Finally, in relation to the unelected AAT, the legislation has also provided the minister with the power to personally set aside decisions by the AAT. For those in the gallery, let me tell you who the AAT think are good citizens. People found of good character by the AAT include an applicant who pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of, eight sexual offences with a minor—with a minor!—two counts of having sexual intercourse and three counts of assault. It goes on, and asks that a further five matters be taken into account. The eight offences took place over a period of 14 years and involved four boys between the ages of nine and 14. The applicant was sentenced to six years' imprisonment. He was released on parole. The AAT set aside the delegate's decision to refuse the application for citizenship and remitted the application with a direction that the applicant should be now be considered for a person of good character.

I tell you what, with this legislation the minister needs to have power to overrule the AAT. The minister is an elected member of parliament, not unelected public servants. They should not have the right to overrule this minister. The Labor Party comes into this place, opposes this legislation and makes political point scoring out of it. I tell you what, people in my electorate support this, and I'm quite happy to sell it at the next election. (Time expired)

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