Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

A well-functioning migration system is essential to Australia's social, cultural and economic wellbeing.

An essential feature of a well-functioning immigration system is the ability to, where necessary, safely detain noncitizens pending their removal from Australia or while their visa status is otherwise resolved.

Over recent years, asylum seekers have been replaced in immigration detention by individuals who have had their visa cancelled on character grounds, who often have serious criminal histories.

About 90 per cent of the current case load hold a criminal conviction, including violent and drug related crimes.

The current coherent includes outlaw motorcycle gang members, which brings a higher degree of volatility and organised criminality.

These convicted criminals seek to continue their criminal behaviour in immigration detention, which has led to an increasing number of events that threaten the health, safety and security of staff and other detainees, as well as visitors.

These events have included harassment, intimidation, threats of violence and actual violence, often fuelled by alcohol and illicit substances.

There have been incidents of criminals in detention facilities using encrypted messaging services to run drug trafficking and other organised crime activities. This causes harm not just to people in detention facilities but to the broader Australian community.

These behaviours are not acceptable anywhere in Australia, and they are not acceptable in immigration detention facilities.

Officers need extended powers, including the power to search and seize communications devices to stop this from happening.

This bill responds to calls for action from the Australian Border Force, as well as external parties including the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The Human Rights Commission's report into conditions at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre recommended expanded search powers for staff.

The bill would amend the Migration Act to allow the minister to determine, via a disallowable legislative instrument, that an item is a 'prohibited thing' in relation to immigration detention facilities or persons in detention, if the minister is satisfied that the thing is unlawful to possess in a place or places in Australia or if the thing would pose a risk to the health, safety or security of a person in a facility, or the order of a facility.

The bill will also strengthen powers to search for, screen, seize and retain prohibited and controlled items without a warrant, and will allow for searches within centres, including the use of detector dogs to search the premises.

The bill will include safeguards to ensure a detainee's right to communicate freely continues to be met.

The bill specifically requires that to exercise the powers to search for and seize a prohibited thing that is otherwise not unlawful to possess or use, an officer must first believe on reasonable grounds that such search or seizure is necessary to prevent or lessen a risk to the health, safety or security of people in the immigration detention facility, or to the good order of the facility.

If such a thing is seized it must also be returned as soon as an officer no longer holds that view or the detainee requests its return.

Further, to ensure the rights of detainees to engage in communications with others outside of the detention facilities are maintained, if the thing that is seized is a mobile phone or communication device, the detainee will be provided with an alternative device until such time as their device is returned. This will ensure there is no impact on their ability to contact their friends and family or to engage in any other lawful communication under their constitutionally implied rights.

The alternative means of communication must be reasonably sufficient to enable the detainee to communicate with family, as well as anyone outside the facility for the purposes of obtaining legal advice.

To be clear, the bill does not establish a blanket prohibition against the possession or use of mobile phones in immigration detention.

Communication devices may only be confiscated when they are being used in a way which would pose a risk to the safety of others in the facility.

The powers provided in this bill are reasonable, proportionate and essential to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all people in immigration detention facilities.

The bill effectively balances the rights of the individuals with the duty of care owed by the Commonwealth, and I commend it to the House.

Debate adjourned.