Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Allison for her question. I think that the Prime Minister and the Treasurer and other government spokesmen have merely said what is the consensus view of all Australians: that when migrants come to this country and seek to become, and do become, Australian citizens they should abide by the general rules that govern this great country. Those general rules essentially are: a commitment to our liberal democracy, a commitment to pluralism and a commitment to abiding by the general rule of law. It is a fact that in Australia, as a long part of the Western tradition, there is a separation of church and state and, while as a proud pluralist country we respect the rights of everyone to honour their faiths, we do seek to ensure that we eliminate extremism in Australia and that we do ensure that everybody, no matter what their faith, their background or their originating culture, does abide by the fundamentals that make this one of the great democratic nations of the world.

This is one of the freest, most democratic and most successful nations ever crafted by humankind. We are all proud of that. That is why this nation is such a magnet for migrants from all over the world. There are many more people wishing to come to Australia than it is possible for us to accept in any given year. Under our government, we have substantially increased the migration program. We have unashamedly changed the emphasis from simply family reunion to skills, because we do believe that, given the extraordinary worldwide demand to become an Australian, we are in a position where we can say to prospective migrants, ‘We welcome you, but we do put a premium on you bringing to this country those skills which this country needs and which will ensure that you can make a positive and strong contribution to the success of this nation.’

I think that ordinary Australians understand what it is that makes this country strong and what unites us, and that is the sorts of freedoms and tolerance and respect for the rule of law which are the Australian values that the Prime Minister and Treasurer were referring to. Part of that mosaic is tolerance of difference and, as a government, we want to ensure that we maintain that tolerance. But we are quite unashamedly saying that extremism is not part of the normally regarded view of what it is to be Australian and that leaders in all communities should do their utmost to eliminate extremism from their communities.