Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition will be supporting this bill but we will also be putting forward some amendments circulated in my name to strengthen it even further. The government has introduced the Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023, which will amend the Migration Act 1958 to establish a consistent approach across the provisions of the Migration Act as well as the Migration Regulations 1994 in relation to sentencing for offences. As the minister has detailed, there has been bipartisan agreement for the approach that has been taken.

The need for this bill follows the decision of the full court of the Federal Court of Australia in Pearson v Minister for Home Affairs 2022. In Pearson, the Federal Court relevantly held that, in effect, an aggregate sentence, a single sentence for more than one offence imposing a term of imprisonment, does not in and of itself constitute a substantial criminal record within the meaning given by subsection 501(7) of the Migration Act, particularly paragraph 501(7)(c), even in circumstances where the sentence is to an aggregate maximum term of imprisonment of four years and three months in respect of 10 offences. The government is right to correct this and that is why the opposition will be supporting this bill. But we will also be putting forward amendments, because the coalition supports a strong approach to ensuring that visa holders that are in Australia uphold the laws of this country and pass a character test to remain here.

The interesting thing about the character test is that it not only applies to those who break the law but, of course, also applies to those who seek to uphold it. That is why we think the government should support the amendments that we will be putting forward today. If a noncitizen breaks the trust of being allowed in Australia by being found guilty and convicted of certain serious offences and poses a risk to the safety of the Australian community then they will not pass the character test and so they should not be considered for a visa or they should be considered for a visa refusal or cancellation. When in government, the coalition was very strong on ensuring that people who wanted to come to Australia to study, work or settle here were of good character. The coalition remains of that view.

In the last parliament, we introduced legislation to strengthen the character test, and debate commenced here in the House on a bill to do that. That bill was passed with the support of the then Labor opposition. Unfortunately, it did not get to a vote in the Senate before the election. Today, the coalition will move amendments to this government bill to strengthen the character test by providing additional grounds to consider visa cancellation where someone fails the character test. We are not saying the minister must, but we are giving the minister the option. We are giving the minister the option to be able to act on things like family and domestic violence. These amendments will provide an additional objective ground to consider refusal or discretionary cancellation of a visa under section 501 of the Migration Act where a person has been convicted of a serious crime but does not meet the substantial criminal record definition in subsection 501(7) of the Migration Act. The amendments do not in any way seek to undermine the courts or their role; rather, they create a new ground for failing the character test based on the seriousness of the offence, which in turn is determined by the maximum sentence imposed by the relevant states and territories.

What we are doing today is providing the government with two ways that they can support the opposition and our amendments. Earlier, I introduced a private member's bill. My hope is that that will also be supported by the government, because the private member's bill and the amendments that we are putting forward here both act in the same way. They enable the minister—and the minister is sitting here, listening to this—to act when it comes to things like murder, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault and domestic violence. It will give him the option to be able to take action.

My hope is that the government will support these amendments, because the absolute priority of any government is to keep the community safe. The ways that we keep the community safe should be continually and consistently looked at. These amendments, and the private member's bill that I introduced earlier, follow on from the outstanding work that was done by the two previous coalition government ministers for immigration. They put a lot of time, thought and effort into how they could make the community safer. The character test was seen to have worked extremely well in this regard. But they saw a way we could ensure it continued to stay apace with the types of crimes we continue to see in our community. That is why they wanted to give the minister the option of being able to act when there was violence or a threat of violence against a person, or nonconsensual conduct of a sexual nature, or a breach of an order made by a court or tribunal for the personal protection of another person, or using or possessing of a weapon, or procuring or assisting in any way with the commission of one of these designated offences. This is good, commonsense policymaking. It's enabling the minister to act in these situations if the minister deems it necessary to act. All we're doing is giving the minister the option. My view is the Australian people would see these very much as commonsense amendments. My hope is that the minister will see it the same way.

These amendments are a test of character. They're a test of the character of the people who come here to Australia—that they will uphold the laws of this country—and they're a character test of the government. Is the government prepared to act when people break Australian law when it comes to things like sexual offences, domestic violence or using weapons to commit a murder? I hope the government will take the right course on this action.

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