Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Exclusion Orders) Bill will introduce two new orders that can be made by the Minister for Home Affairs: firstly, a temporary exclusion order, a TEO, which may prevent an Australian citizen aged 14 years or older—I'll pause there and remind everyone we're talking about children being captured within the scope of this bill—who is overseas from returning to Australia for up to two years at a time and, secondly, a return permit under which the minister may impose conditions on the person's entry into Australia, including conditions with which the person must comply for up to 12 months after re-entering our country.

I'm going to be very clear about this. This bill is a fundamental undermining of the rule of law in this country. This legislation, if successful, will set Minister Peter Dutton up as judge and jury, and it will continue the slow zombie shuffle that the bipartisanship on national security undergoing, meaning that Australia is on the road to becoming a police and surveillance state. This bill will be strongly opposed by the Australian Greens. As doctors Ananian-Welsh, Blackbourn and McGarrity of the universities of Queensland, Oxford and New South Wales respectively have cautioned, this bill will have a significant impact on the fundamental human rights of Australian citizens recognised by international law. These rights include the right of abode, the right to family, the right to liberty, the right to security of the person, the right to a fair trial and the right to freedom of association and movement. If that list of fundamental human rights, which actually underpins our way of life in this country, soon to be compromised by this legislation is not enough to make this parliament whoa up and have another think about the path we're on, I don't know what will.

This bill provides that a TEO can be made for a period of up to two years. By the way, a TEO can be made without the person who will be impacted finding out about it at all. This is a massive denial of procedural fairness. The subject of a TEO must be made aware of the order by the minister as soon as, in the minister's opinion, is reasonable and practicable. But on what is reasonable and practicable in the opinion of a minister, particularly the current minister, Mr Dutton, the bill provides no guidance whatsoever. Of course, the penalty for entering Australia if a TEO is in forced is up to two years imprisonment. So you can get chucked in the slammer in this country for trying to re-enter even if the government hasn't bothered to tell you there's a TEO that applies to you in the first place.

We've just listened to a first speech from a Liberal senator which talked about the philosophical underpinnings of the Liberal Party being freedom of the individual. Less than an hour later the government is bringing in legislation to this parliament that undermines the freedom of the individual in this country.

Senator Seselja interjecting—

I missed that interjection, but, if Senator Seselja would like to repeat it, I'm happy to respond. No. This fundamentally erodes the freedom of the individual in this country and fundamentally erodes and undermines the rule of law in Australia. This is a sad, sad day for the country, and it continues to build on the over 200 pieces of legislation that have passed through the state, territory and Commonwealth parliaments in the last two decades that erode the fundamental rights, freedoms and liberties of people in this country. These are the liberties we used to send Australians overseas, including my family members, to fight to defend, and now we're giving them away, hand over fist, because of the bipartisanship on national security and a government that wants to sleepwalk this country down the road to a totalitarian state. What a disgraceful day this is for the country!

So, a 14-year-old Australian citizen in a conflict zone overseas could be issued with a TEO but not know because, for example, they weren't able to access their emails. This 14-year-old then tries to return home, perhaps even to escape radical and extremist influences where they are overseas and, wham, they're imprisoned for up to two years. It's unbelievable that we have arrived at this place.

Senator Hanson interjecting—

And I'm not taking interjections from a racist like Senator Hanson. Under this bill, the minister is not even required to consider whether the subject of a TEO is a citizen, has residency or—