Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bennelong. I agree that our electorates are some of the most diverse in the country. I think mine is the most diverse; I have to claim that. Last week, we welcomed 500 new Australian citizens in a Fairfield City Council citizenship ceremony, so I share your view on the importance of this Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2023-2024. The government recently presented to us, the crossbench, and showed us the summary of what the migration review has revealed about our visa system. It is convoluted and complex and has a network of categories and visas that really looks like a web. I think it leaves the spiderweb for dead.

While I applaud the Minister for Home Affairs for taking on the challenge to review our migration process, I also encourage her to include in this review a look at what happens after migrants or refugees have settled. As I have previously said, my community has firsthand experience of the impact of migration and refugee settlement. We are a multicultural melting pot, with our country built on the shoulders of migrants and refugees, dating back as far as post World War II, with the influx of German and Italian migrants. Recently, we settled 12,000 Syrian refugees in Fairfield City Council alone—more than the rest of the state of New South Wales. However, we have not received the funding for basic infrastructure and services to match the settlement responsibilities our city took on. Our roads, public transport and hospitals aren't funded to support the increased population pressure and needs. Our schools are bursting at the seams with limited resources—human and capital. Now the cost-of-living and housing crises are acutely felt by everyone. I asked the minister: Will the review also take into consideration housing and infrastructure needs to support newly arrived migrants as well as current residents?

As part of the budget, I acknowledge the government will introduce an improved delivery model for the Adult Migrant English Program from 1 January 2025 to allow migrants and citizens to improve their ability to speak the English language, which I have benefitted from as a former refugee myself, so I know the importance of learning the English language. As well, it will help gain employment and other settlement outcomes. I welcome the improved delivery model; however, there is no additional funding allocated in this budget, so how will the model be improved with no additional funding? How will it get rolled out across the 300 locations in Australia? And which electorates will be prioritised? When settling into a new country, migrants need as much support as possible for them to feel secure and part of the community. It is imperative the government address these needs within the review.

The budget revealed that $75.8 million is to be allocated for improving visa processing over the course of two years. In the past decade, Australia has undeniably experienced an influx of visa applications with skilled and humanitarian migrants. I am sure I speak for many electorate officers when I say our staff and our officers feel the impact of the inefficiency and clogs within the current visa processing system. We are inundated with inquiries from our constituents about the delay in processing time, as the Department of Home Affairs is unable to keep up with the number of applications coming through. There is a human cost, as the delay to the application process causes anxiety for people having to wait for an outcome. I had a constituent who applied for a temporary protection visa who has been caught up in the process and delayed for approximately four years. Migration is by far one of the most significant issues in my electorate of Fowler. Just having a look at the last year, nearly 30 per cent of our cases are to do with immigration, visas or passports, the biggest portion of constituent work by a long shot.

Over the weekend I had the pleasure to join the Sabian Mandaean community for their remembrance day. Many were lucky to be settled in Australia after surviving trauma and atrocities of war in their homeland, but they have spent years waiting for answers as to why some of the family, friends and community members are still living in limbo in Turkiye. I ask the minister: What are the measures being implemented by the Department of Home Affairs to improve the efficiency of visa processing times? Can the minister clarify which visa application streams will benefit from this additional funding? For example, will humanitarian visa applications be prioritised over skilled migrant visas? As is clear when it comes to migration, many factors come into play. We need to ensure those who come to this lucky country have every chance to succeed in their new lives, whether they come as international students, skilled professionals or part of a humanitarian intake.

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