Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to ask the government a question on this. In regard to the amendment put up by Senator Paterson, it states, in amending item 4:

(c) for an offence against a law in force in a foreign country—if it were assumed that the act or omission constituting the offence had taken place in the Australian Capital Territory:

This begs the question. You have all the people in detention centres in Nauru who want to come to Australia, and they haven't been allowed to because they haven't passed the character test. We know that a lot of these people have destroyed their identification, and we don't know who they are. Therefore, with these people—and some have actually got through the system to actually be given citizenship—where do you stand then if you can't find out the particulars of who they really are? Have they committed an offence in a foreign country, and, therefore, will the government uphold the fact that they should not be allowed to get citizenship?

I want to know how the government intends to deal with this, of people you cannot really identify. Now the Greens are pushing Labor to allow these people from Nauru to come to Australia—and give them residency—but you can't satisfy the Australian people of their character. And, if any criminal offences have been committed in their own country, how is the government going to address this?