Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank those senators who have contributed to this debate. The Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023 will amend the Migration Act 1958. Let's be very clear: this bill is about keeping Australians safe. It's also about clarifying something in legislation that has been a well-understood bipartisan principle, underpinning Australian migration law, for a very long period of time, which was recently called into question as a result of a court decision that occurred just before Christmas.

The amendments in this bill will make it clear that for the purposes of the Migration Act, including determining whether a person has a substantial criminal record for the character test, it is irrelevant whether a sentence or imprisonment was imposed on that person for one offence or two or more offences. It provides the most appropriate mechanism for the government to detain those individuals whose visas were previously cancelled on the basis of sentences for more than one offence and proceed with their removal from Australia.

To give an example of what this bill will help clarify, a person who is sentenced for a term of imprisonment of 10 years for committing a violent offence would be found to have a substantial criminal record, under the current law, and would be liable for mandatory cancellation of their visa; whereas, in the absence of this legislation being passed, if that person were convicted for 15 years on the basis of two offences they would not be subject to mandatory cancellation, simply because that sentence was in respect of more than one offence. That is, clearly, not what the Australian people would expect from their parliament, and that is what we are seeking to change through this legislation.

The bill does not change or expand the circumstances in which aggregate sentences are considered for all relevant purposes of the Migration Act. This bill simply confirms the long-held bipartisan understanding that aggregate sentences can be taken into account for all relevant purposes under the Migration Act. This bill will also retrospectively amend the Migration Act to validate past decisions and actions that have been rendered invalid on the basis of the judgement in the Pearson case, which is the case I referred to where the decision was handed down just before Christmas. This is important to enable those decisions, which were taken to protect the Australian community, to stand. In this respect, the decisions made under the powers of the Migration Act will not change as a consequence of this bill. In fact, the decisions undertaken will be in a manner consistent with the government's long-held understanding and practice.

Just before finalising, I must take issue with some of the things that Senator McKim said on behalf of the Greens. As would be expected, the Greens have used this as an opportunity to have a go at Labor and to try to pretend that this bill is about some attack on human rights. Nothing could be further from the truth. The types of individuals who will be affected by this legislation have been convicted of some of the most serious offences under Australian criminal law. It's about people who have committed serious sexual offences, kidnapping offences and a range of other very serious offences.

To try to paint those sorts of people as deserving respect for their human rights at the expense of the Australian people is certainly not something that the Australian government supports. I'm surprised, frankly, that the Greens are questioning whether those are the kinds of people who are right to remain in this country. Of course, powers that rest in the minister to cancel someone's visa need to be exercised carefully. They need to be exercised compassionately, but we make no apologies for ensuring that the minister of the day has the power to cancel the visas of people who have been convicted of some of the most serious offences imaginable under Australian law. Again, it might be good for cheap shots from the Greens to try to pretend that this bill is something that it is not, but this bill is about protecting the Australian people from those who have committed serious offences—not just minor offences, but very serious offences—while in Australia. If the Greens want to defend that kind of behaviour, that is a matter for them.

This bill deserves support from all parts of this chamber, and I commend the bill to the Senate.