Michael Forshaw (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is directed to Senator Vanstone, the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Can the minister confirm that she is not a member of the National Security Committee of cabinet, which made the decision to change Australia’s immigration laws to appease Indonesia? Is it true that the minister attended a citizenship ceremony yesterday rather than the party room meeting where her planned changes to our laws were fiercely debated? Where will the decision about the final shape of the bill be made? Will it be made by the Prime Minister’s office, by Foreign Affairs, by Indonesia or by the government’s backbench? Can the minister also indicate whether she has been told whether the bill will proceed at all or is she still waiting for someone to let her know just what is happening?