Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

God help Australia if what we saw over the last few weeks from this desperate, hopeless Liberal government is now what passes for public policy in migration and citizenship. I am proud that Labor will ignore the dog whistling and wedge tactics by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and will vote against the government's changes to citizenship laws. I stand with my very diverse community in opposing these divisive, politically driven changes.

Was there a more pathetic sight than the Prime Minister desperately trying to sell these changes that he does not even believe in? Actually, yes, there was. There was the same Prime Minister pushing changes to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act to let people say more racist things. It is clear they have got form on this stuff. We had spurious claims of free speech back then; now we have got silly beat-ups about national security. It only applies these changes to permanent residents of the country and no advice from national security agencies has been produced.

The terrible irony, of course, is that the Liberal Party's changes will hurt, not help, our social cohesion and community security. We do not want hundreds of thousands of permanent residents living in our country for years and years as an underclass blocked from becoming citizens. How on earth would that make us a better society or a better nation? We should expect people who settle here and live as Australians to take the pledge of allegiance to Australia sooner, rather than later. The government's plan to require university standard English is ridiculous snobbery. The citizenship test is already in English—the government can change it whenever they like—and conversational English has served us well for decades.

Over 50 per cent of people in my electorate were born in another country, including thousands of European migrants—Greeks, Italians, Serbians and so on—most of whom would never have passed this test and still would not pass the government's university English test today. They are people who have made wonderful contributions to Australia. They have raised their kids, built businesses, saved, given back to the community and enriched our culture. The minister says, 'The world is different now'. Really? Try telling that to thousands of Chinese skilled and business migrants who are absolutely furious about these changes. They have come here on a promise and often paid for their education or invested millions in growing businesses. They speak English fine, but they do not have time to learn to write an English essay. They feel lied to and cheated and feel that the Liberal government's policies are anti-Chinese.

Many Australians, including those born here—and a number of MPs, I would bet—would not pass the English test. It is profoundly unfair. And a word of advice: I am worried that it will cause another party room brawl on the other side. Why pick on Barnaby? The government's message to all Australians who do not have university-level qualifications is that, if the Liberals had their choice, they would rather you were not here.

With regard to values, of course all Australians should sign up to our laws and values. But the government have the power right now to change the citizenship test and the questions whenever they like. This damaging legislation is nothing but a stunt to advance Peter Dutton's leadership ambitions within the Liberal Party. Shamefully, the government is even refusing to release the public submissions it has received, so Labor will move for a Senate inquiry so that everyone's voices can be heard. I encourage everyone affected or concerned to speak up.

I want to make a few broader comments and reflections on the impact on Australia's society and economy from ill-thought-out migration policy. This is an incredibly complex policy area, and we are not well served by Dutton's piecemeal, politically driven changes. Over many years, we have seen the sometimes unintended consequences of ad hoc decisions which may seem fine in isolation but are quite worrying when you step back and put them together.

We now have over 1.3 million people in Australia on temporary visas with some kind of work rights attached, including international students, New Zealanders, refugees on temporary visas and working holiday travellers—a much longer list than 457 visas. The hundreds of thousands of people on temporary visas are a growing underclass in our society and vulnerable to the most appalling exploitation by employers. We are saying Australia is a nation of migrants, but it was never meant to be a two-tiered economy where temporary workers were vulnerable to exploitation, underpay and unsafe conditions.

This issue goes to the very heart of the kind of society that we want to be and will be. When employers can threaten to withhold sponsorship with no effective sanctions or refuse to certify a backpacker's 88 days of specified work without kickbacks, a worker's rights under our laws are not really there. Temporary workers face real barriers to changing jobs, and the requirement for employer sponsorship can leave them vulnerable to underpayment, poor conditions or even abuse—a form of modern slavery. We have heard about the 7-Eleven scandal and international students. We have heard of the same rorts applying in delivery services, cleaning, hospitality, agriculture and so on. There are numerous examples of people on 457 visas who are forced to pay kickbacks and terrified to speak up in case they are deported.

It is difficult at times for those of us born in Australia to truly comprehend the terror this causes someone with migration uncertainty hanging over their head. This is ripe ground for kickbacks, deductions and sexual exploitation, as has been observed by the commissioner. It does not impact migrants over there or someone else. It impacts all of us because, when employers can pick and choose between a cheap guest worker and a citizen with rights for fair pay and decent conditions, wage growth for everyone else in the country is held down by an underclass of desperate or vulnerable people who have no choice but to cop illegally low wages and dangerous, awful conditions. Scandal after scandal shows that the Fair Work Ombudsman is failing to protect people.

Australia used to pride itself on being a permanent settler migrant society where people could come, build a life and obtain citizenship. Yet now we are at risk of entrenching a guest worker or serf class, which creates this two-tiered economy—Australian citizens with rights and temporary workers without. Yet, instead of methodical policy development—facts, evidence, consultation and deliberation—the government keeps making kneejerk, populist announcements. The rebranding of the 457 visas is typical of Minister Dutton and designed for a headline. Meanwhile, the government has not even provided a response to the Senate committee's very detailed report which was entitled A national disgrace: the exploitation of temporary work visa holders, which came out more than a year ago—not a response. The Prime Minister's merchant banker mates might consider themselves global citizens who jet off to work in New York and then trip over to London, but that is not the reality for most of us. Minister Dutton's con job on 457 makes this problem worse, because whatever you rename it, however you cut the list and the conditions, if there is no proper labour market testing, it will be rorted. As the new two-year 457 visa has no pathway to permanent residency, it entrenches an even larger guest worker program in Australia.

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection talks about the importance of integration in the community, but insecurity, exploitation and permanent exclusion are profound barriers to integration and real threats to community harmony. How on earth can you build a life in this country if you do not know where you will be living in a few years time? There are over one million people in Australia who live with insecurity. None of this will be solved by fiddling with the citizenship test. To my mind, the real threat to Australian values is the creation of this permanent underclass of workers. For a country that prides itself on its egalitarian nature, on giving everyone a fair go and having the same rights under the law, it is not working. This, of course, is set to be made worse now with the creation of a permanent underclass of permanent residents excluded from full membership of the Australian community.

Of course, this will also pervert our democracy over time. Someone who spent their adult life here, who pays taxes, who may have no pathway to citizenship and speaks English but cannot write an essay will have no chance even after decades of attaining political rights—until, of course, they turn 60. Then, magically, the English test does not count anymore. How on earth does this make us a better society if we force highly skilled, law-abiding people to wait for over a decade to formalise their commitment to Australia? These are people who may have lived here all their adult life. They pay full fees as international students for high school, they pay full fees for an undergraduate degree, and they pay full fees or do a PhD for postgraduate study. They can secure a 485 visa to stay for an extra two or three years and work in a highly skilled field. They might then get one of these new 457s—we do not know the number yet—and after three years they might become a permanent resident—12 to 14 years, all their adult life, in this country. Australia is their home. They have lived here; they have paid tax here and they have contributed to the society, made friends and maybe fallen in love and had some kids—perhaps out of love. These are all the experiences that shape our adult lives. They have been, for them, Australian experiences. For these people, we should be examining more secure, quicker pathways to citizenship and not treating these sorts of people as an underclass.

In conclusion, the government's proposals as a package would accelerate and entrench radical changes to Australian society, and the government has not been honest with people about what they mean. I call on the communities to submit to the Senate inquiry and to speak up about and against these changes.