David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The government would make this point: we expect every person in Australia to be of good character. I point to the fact that this bill adds to the existing regulatory and legislative framework; it does not replace or subtract from the framework. What I mean by that is that we are, with this bill, pro­viding the government with additional legislative powers with respect to non-citizens who are detained, but that in no way changes the existing obligations, or rights for that matter, of non-citizens found throughout the country. The existing pantheon of rules, laws and regulations will continue to apply to those persons. We would say to all of them that we expect them to remain of good standing in this country.