Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water) Share this | Hansard source

I can indicate also that the government does not support the Greens proposal to disallow the Migration Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 5). The purpose of that regulation is to amend the Migration Regulations 1994 to further implement recommendations made by the Report of the expert panel on asylum seekers, a report that was accepted by the government. Principally, this was to do two things: firstly, preventing persons who became irregular maritime arrivals after 13 August 2012 from being eligible to propose family members for entry to Australia under the humanitarian program and, specifically, from the Refugee and Humanitarian (Class XB) visa; and, secondly, amending the criteria to be considered for existing applications when determining whether there are compelling reasons for certain people applying for a class XB visa. The regulation gives effect to recommendations 1, 11 and 12 of the Report of the expert panel on asylum seekers. In summary, recommendation 1 relates to the application of a 'no advantage' principle to ensure that no benefit is gained by irregular maritime arrivals through circumventing regular migration arrangements. Recommendation 11 is that the current backlog in the Special Humanitarian Program be addressed through removing family reunion concessions for proposers who arrive through irregular maritime voyages. In recommendation 12, the panel recommends that future irregular maritime arrivals should not be eligible to sponsor family under the Special Humanitarian Program. Instead, family reunion for these irregular arrivals should be achieved through the family stream of the migration program. The regulation is a key part of the government's response to the recommendations of the expert panel, which aim to prevent asylum seekers from risking their lives by sea by shifting the balance of risk and incentive in favour of regular migration pathways and established international protections.

The regulation acts as a circuit-breaker to reduce the attractiveness of Australia as a destination for irregular migration. It does so by abolishing the special family reunion concession—a concession that asylum seekers who were granted protection visas have enjoyed for the last 15 years—for asylum seekers who arrived after 13 August 2012. The regulation does not punish or disadvantage protection visa holders. It puts them back on an equal footing with other Australian permanent residents and citizens who apply for family reunion under the regular migration program.

Senator Joyce interjecting—

Are you okay, Senator Joyce?