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

My question is to the Prime Minister. At the Australia-New Zealand Leaders Meeting on 8 July 2022, did the Prime Minister commit to change the ministerial direction regarding the removal of New Zealand citizens?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. The shadow minister, who I think held this portfolio at one stage, talks as if the premise of direction 99 is that it set an entirely new standard, when he knows that it did not. Direction 90 talked of a higher level of tolerance for criminals who have lived in the Australian community for most of their lives. Direction 79, signed by Minister Coleman in 2018—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will pause. The member for Wannon, on a point of order?

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

It was a very direct question. It asked whether the Prime Minister gave a commitment at that leaders meeting to change the ministerial direction regarding the removal of New Zealanders. That is a very, very direct question.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House, on the point of order?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To what was just raised: it's therefore clearly directly relevant to that, to look at the extent to which it was a change, given the previous directions that had been put in place.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister is able to talk about the lead-up to that decision and arrangements, but he's going to have to be specific regarding the meeting and the decision itself. I'll just listen carefully to make sure he's being directly relevant to the member for Wannon.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the minister or the former minister or anyone who has been involved in any process at international level thinks that you sit down and you go through directions in ministerial guidelines, you are just wrong; you are just completely wrong. That is absurd. That is why the premise of this question is wrong.

Directions 90, 79 and 65 all said that Australia may afford a higher level of tolerance for people based on how long they had been in Australia. The premise of this dry gully that the opposition is going down is completely wrong, as evidenced by the number of people who were released into the community on this minister's watch—who is now the Leader of the Opposition—when he was the minister, because of decisions that were overturned by the AAT—full of their appointments that were made.