Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

One of the greatest privileges of being a member of parliament is welcoming new citizens to our country and our community. When someone decides to replant their life and the lives of their family on Australian soil, they are making a significant decision. It's one of the most significant decisions a person can make, and it will leave a legacy for the generations that follow. Their story becomes part of the broader Australian story and their own life is then forever shaped by the land and people among whom they make their home.

I think of some of the families in my electorate who've done this—people like Abbas Ali, who came to Australia from Africa and built a business and gives back extraordinarily each day through the people he employs and his charitable work. I think of Mala Mehta, who came to Australia from India and who has received the Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to the community. I think of Nasiba Akram, a leader in the Afghan community who has helped settle hundreds of new families all across Australia over decades. I think of Jenny Lau, who has led the Cherrybrook Chinese Community Association—an organisation that integrates and settles people—here for many years. She is similar to my friend Ashwani Jain, the secretary of the Hindu council. I have been very pleased to go to several citizenship ceremonies over the last few years. One that I particularly remember is that of Steve Hunt, a British migrant to Australia who is now a leader in the Cherrybrook scouting community.

Australia is a unique and incredible country, and this is partly because of the way we have so successfully integrated people from many places and backgrounds into our country. You rarely find a more patriotic Australian than one who has chosen to be here and who has put in the effort to build a new life in this country. Liberal governments have always recognised the immense privilege that citizenship confers. This government is continuing to ensure that migration to Australia is managed efficiently and with the appropriate care, recognising how significant a decision about citizenship is and how important national security remains as these decisions are made. It should be no surprise to us that many people across the world look at Australia and would love to become a part of this nation.

In the eight years between 2010-11 and 2017-18, there was a 177 per cent increase in the demand for Australian citizenship. In 2017-2018, over 80,000 people from at least 180 different countries became Australian citizens. And in 2018-2019 more than 145,000 migrants had their citizenship by conferral applications approved.

As a result of the government's investment in citizenship, there is an 80 per cent increase in the number of citizenship by conferral applications approved. What this means in practical terms is that we have more people who are not just living here indefinitely, with one foot in and one foot out, but taking on the responsibilities and commitments that come with being a citizen.

Despite this increase in demand, there has been significant improvement in the time taken for citizenship applications to be processed. There was a coordinated range of improvements to every stage of the process during 2018-19, including the recruitment of more staff to process this high volume of applications, the procedures and training and ambitious targets to drive efficiency, the multidisciplinary task forces to address some of the most complex identity cohorts, and the creation of more appointments for applicant interviews and testing.

With these and other efforts, the government has halved the time between an applicant attending a citizenship interview and the finalisation of their application. People who were previously waiting over 100 days are now only waiting just 50. This is good news for everyone. It's good news for the taxpayer who's seeing greater efficiency for the dollars spent in this area. It's good news for communities who can be confident that the right people are being welcomed smoothly and that the wrong people are being declined. And it's good news for those waiting to have the privilege of citizenship conferred on them.

Our government knows that the processing time is not the only metric we should be using to assess how effectively migration cases are being handled. Citizenship should only be conferred upon those who are committed to Australia and fully satisfy the provisions of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007. We need to ensure that the integrity of our citizenship program and the safety of the community are always the first consideration in citizenship cases. When somebody becomes a citizen we need to know that their commitment is to this country and that it is a genuine commitment, and that they will participate in community life and they can help build deep and meaningful roots in this land for generations.

Our government scrutiny also means that in 2018-19 there was a 53 per cent increase in refusals of citizenship. These refusal cases take longer to process but they are also an important sign that our citizenship process is working and delivering results. I commend the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs and the Minister for Home Affairs for the outstanding work they are doing in driving a more efficient but robust citizenship processing system that gives Australians confidence that we're welcoming people to make their home with us with due levels of care. With the leadership of those ministers, I'm confident we'll see more efficiencies and the continued preservation of a robust citizenship process.

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