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

Australia's the most successful multicultural country on earth. We're home to the world's oldest continuing culture as well as Australians who identify with 270 different ancestries. Since the first Australian citizenship ceremony on Australia Day 1949, we've welcomed over five million new citizens to our shores. We are a prosperous, safe and united country. Our inclusive national identity is built around our shared values, including democracy, freedom, equal opportunity and individual responsibility.

As well as building a vibrant and diverse Australia, this government has much to celebrate in its management of migration program. We've brought in skilled migrants who will contribute to our national wealth by bringing critical skills that businesses weren't able to find locally, and we've done our part through the humanitarian program to support persecuted people around the world to find refuge in Australia. Importantly, this has all been done while maintaining the integrity of the border and confidence in the migration program.

The government's policy is very clear. People have zero chance of being permanently settled in Australia if they arrive illegally by boat. After dismantling the Howard government's successful border protection policies, Labor lost control of Australia's borders. Between 2008 and 2013, more than 50,000 people arrived in Australia illegally on more than 820 boats, and, tragically, at least 1,200 died at sea. Labor's record is clear. They cannot be trusted with protecting Australia's borders.

Since 2013, the government has worked methodically and successfully to end maritime people smuggling into Australia and to clean up this mess. Since coming to government, we've returned 873 people from 38 maritime people smuggling ventures to their country of origin or departure. Over the same period, close cooperation with regional partners has resulted in disruptions of an additional 84 maritime people smuggling ventures, 2,674 potential illegal migrants, and 634 arrests in source and transit countries.

While regional processing in PNG is coming to an end, the Morrison government's strong border protection policies, including a commitment to regional processing, has not changed. The Minister for Home Affairs recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nauruan government to establish an enduring regional processing capability in that country. This will ensure that regional processing continues as a deterrent against people smuggling. Anyone who attempts to enter Australia illegally by boat will be returned or sent to Nauru. Rather than chaos and tragedy, the Morrison government has restored integrity to Australia's migration program, and we've taken back our borders from the control of people smugglers.

While we're tough, we're also doing our part. Australia is one of the most generous contributors to international refugee resettlement efforts, successfully resettling more than 900,000 refugees and others in humanitarian need since the end of the Second World War. We are one of a relatively small number of countries that operate an annual permanent resettlement program and continue to rank among the top three per cent of resettlement countries in both absolute and per capita terms.

The humanitarian intake program has been drawn from a range of nationalities, ethnic and religious groups reflecting global displacement arising from conflict and persecution. The humanitarian program aims to provide permanent settlement and resettlement to those most in need, who are often in desperate situations, including in refugee camps and protected refugee situations; to reunite refugees and people who are in refugee-like situations overseas with their family in Australia; to be flexible and responsive to changing global resettlement needs and emerging humanitarian situations to ensure Australia's approach remains comprehensive and high-quality; to use resettlement strategically to help stabilise refugee populations, reduce the prospect of irregular movement from source countries and countries of first asylum and support broader international protection; and, of course, to meet Australia's international protection obligations. All humanitarian program applications are assessed on an individual basis, with applicants required to demonstrate their humanitarian need. Visa grants are ultimately subject to rigorous assessment, including health, character and security checks which are conducted before an individual is granted a visa.

While we're supporting those in need through our humanitarian program, we're also supporting Australian businesses to get the skills they need to prosper by providing for a skilled migration program. With the onset of COVID-19, around half a million temporary visa holders, many of whom were skilled migrants, left our shores. This not only had an effect on working holiday makers and on students but on many businesses in Australia that rely on skilled migration to keep their businesses open. On migration, the government has the policy settings right. Unlike the border chaos of the Labor days, we're tough on people smugglers, making sure we stop their pernicious business model in its tracks. At the same time, we have one of the most generous humanitarian programs in the world and we're making sure Australian businesses can get the skills they need.

See this speech in context