Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Keneally. I seek further instructions from you in relation to the comments you've put to me. I don't have them in front of me, unfortunately, to verify exactly what was being said. Again, all I can say to you is this, in terms of the instructions that I have been given: at the time, there were no known character or security concerns in regard to Captain Salas. As relevant authorities were not aware of the character or security concerns regarding Captain Salas, an MSIC application would not have picked these up. As I also said to you in my comments, now that the concerns regarding Captain Salas's behaviour have come to light, these will be taken into account on any future visa applications. As I've already said, obviously the government can't speculate about any application that may have been lodged or pre-empt any future decisions. Again, the government can confirm that the testimony of Captain Salas during the coronial inquest, specifically any admissions to selling firearms to his crew, as well as any penal certificates from any country Captain Salas has resided in for longer than 12 months, over the age of 16 years, in the last 10 years, other adverse information and any character references supplied can now be considered.

Again, just for the Hansard record: there is no disputing that Captain Salas was a genuine seafarer. He had a long history of travelling in and out of Australia as the captain or a crew member of non-military vessels. While we can't comment on individual cases, we can confirm that people with character concerns similar to those of Captain Salas may be prevented from being granted a visa due to these concerns. That's the information I have at this point in time.