Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

  (a) as at 30 June 2019 there were 221,415 applications for Australian citizenship by conferral;

  (b) under this Government the backlog has risen from 27,037 in 2013-14;

  (c) the timeframe for finalisation of 90 per cent of applications is now within 24 months;

  (d) some applicants wait longer than two years for their applications to be finalised; and

  (e) Australian Citizenship provides a number of important benefits including:

     (i) the right to enrol and vote;

     (ii) eligibility for a HECS-HELP loan for university;

     (iii) access to an Australian passport; and

     (iv) sometimes satisfying a requirement for employment; and

(2) calls on the Government to immediately address the backlog and lengthy wait times for citizenship applications so that people who want to fully participate in Australian civic life are able to do so.

Arthur Calwell, in introducing the Nationality and Citizenship Bill in September 1948, said:

It will symbolize not only our own pride in Australia, but also our willingness to offer a share in our future to the new Australians we are seeking in ... vast numbers. These people are sure of a warm welcome to our shores. They will no longer need to strive towards an intangible goal, but can aspire to the honour of Australian citizenship. They will be able to say, just as proudly as any of us, "I am an Australian".

That warmth and generous spirit has been lost under the Morrison government. The key purposes of Australian citizenship were to allow newcomers to claim Australian nationality and not feel discriminated against; to end uncertainty hanging over the heads of newcomers who wanted Australia to be their home; to allow them to work for their future with absolute confidence; to make them equal to all others before the law and, in their participation, in all aspects of Australian life; and to give newcomers the security that enabled them to embrace Australian values and commit to the nation's prosperity and the nation's growth. Importantly, citizenship created a process by which newcomers could publicly pledge their loyalty to Australia. It is something that only new citizens get to do in most cases. People born in this country never get to do it. It was an opportunity for newcomers to say to the Australian people, 'I want to be part of your country and I'm pledging my loyalty to you.'

In the decades that followed, successive Australian governments actively encouraged eligible new migrants to become Australian citizens. That all changed in 2013 when the coalition government took office. Since then, becoming an Australian citizen has been made much more difficult. Indeed, it has almost been discouraged. Processing of applications almost came to a standstill, with some people waiting in excess of two years for their citizenship to be processed. I spoke to one couple that had that happen only a week ago.

In 2013-14, when this government came to office, 27,037 people were in the citizenship queue. As at 30 June 2019, there were 221,415 people waiting to have their application processed. That is an eight-fold increase in the waiting list when this government came to office. That is no coincidence and it simply happened under this government's watch, and I believe deliberately so. These are people who have met the necessary criteria, have lodged their applications and patiently wait to hear from the department as to when they might be able to be granted their citizenship. While they wait, they can't get access to an Australian passport, they can't get access to a university HECS-HELP loan for their children, they're unable to get overseas consular assistance if they happen to travel overseas and some problems arise, and they can't apply for certain jobs which still require Australian citizenship as one of the criteria. Importantly, they can't vote. Even though they are permanent residents and pay taxes, they can't vote. Indeed, in the recent May election, some 200,000 people who would otherwise have been eligible to vote weren't able to do so because their citizenship application had not been processed.

I notice that since that election the numbers have improved a little, and the waiting list, as at the end of July, is I believe 198,477. I suspect that part of it is that people are sick of the processing time and are simply not applying. That's indeed what one person said to me, again, only within the last week. The government should get on with processing those applications and give eligible migrants the opportunity to pledge their commitment to this country, which I'm sure all of us would want to see them do—and give them the security and the confidence they need to get on with their lives.

I attend citizenship ceremonies on a regular basis in my electorate. It is the one thing I have done for years and years. One of the greatest joys I get is seeing the expressions on the faces of those people about to be handed their certificate, because they know that after their long journey to this country—in many cases from countries where citizenship wasn't even available to them—they have finally got the security they want for themselves and their children.

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