Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The ugly truth is that this bill that the Labor Party is ramming through today is a manifestation of the toxic politics of fear and division from both of the big parties that have poisoned the national discourse for far too long. Such is the moral bankruptcy that has seeped into the heart of both major parties and their politics that we are now pushing through—we're not even debating it—a bill that Donald Trump would probably be proud of. And it's not just being put forward; it's being rushed through. It was introduced just yesterday in the House, with a sham two-hour inquiry last night, and now here we have it being rammed through the Senate. The bipartisan agreement on cruelty to refugees has really hit a new low today. Both parties are trading in human suffering to score cheap political points in a race to the bottom, targeting the most vulnerable—refugees and people who seek asylum.

It is such a pitiful race to the bottom. Labor is trying to out Dutton Mr Dutton, the very man who has dog whistled his way to the top of the Liberal Party. Labor has no answers on why this bill should be rushed or any details of the bill, as you just heard Senator Shoebridge telling us, and they have consulted no-one. Yet here we are in this situation, rushing it through.

The Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024 is an extraordinary expansion of ministerial powers, to the point that the Human Rights Law Centre has called the powers 'godlike'. The bill so significantly expands the powers of the minister that the minister can unilaterally, subject only to consultation with the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, designate a country to be a removal concern country. The effect of this will be that almost all nationals from that country are prohibited from applying for any visa to come to Australia, and only the minister can decide if they want to lift that prohibition. The bill doesn't require them to even consider that request.

This is not just extremely dangerous policy; it is also extraordinarily racist. The Labor Party are drawing inspiration not just from the Leader of the Opposition but also Donald Trump as they write these powers into laws for themselves, egged on by the coalition. This is no surprise to anyone, though, who has been following the Labor Party's trajectory of demonising refugees and migrants, so much so that the Minister for Home Affairs, Clare O'Neill, shamefully said last year, 'The Leader of the Opposition loves to present himself as a tough guy on borders. He never wrote laws as tough as this.' You should not be proud of this; you should be ashamed of this.

Furthermore, this bill will allow the government to force people to return to countries where they face persecution and even death. This is the absolute worst of politics in this country, and both Labor and the coalition should be ashamed for supporting this bill. Make no mistake, at its core this bill is racist in nature. It seeks to criminalise migrants, refugees and people who seek asylum. This is one of the many insidious ways in which power and privilege are wielded to perpetuate systems of oppression and marginalisation, and this bill is a prime example of institutionalised racism masquerading as immigration policy. Shame on you!