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

Immigration will be front and centre at the coming federal election, and I think it's important that those people who have tuned in today understand what I'm trying to do here. I am moving a motion for the following matter to be referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 10 February 2025. There has not been enough debate on it, and this is what needs to be done. That's why I move:

That the following matter be referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 10 February 2025:

The failure of the Albanese Government's immigration policies to manage population growth and protect Australians' interests, with particular reference to:

(a) the Government's failure to meet immigration targets and the impact of allowing record numbers of migrants into the country without adequate planning;

(b) the role of mass immigration in driving up housing costs, worsening the rental crisis and locking Australians out of homeownership;

(c) the unchecked influx of international students and the strain this placing on housing and services;

(d) the strain on infrastructure, essential services and the environment caused by rapid, immigration-driven population growth;

(e) the lack of clear and accountable processes for managing visa programs, including the Government's failure to enforce promised restrictions;

(f) the uneven impact of immigration, creating unsustainable pressure on cities while diverting resources away from rural and regional areas and stifling their development;

(g) the failure to address critical skills shortages through alternative methods, such as increasing apprenticeship subsidies and investing in local workforce development, instead of relying on high immigration; and

(h) any other related matters.

This is all because—and I'm driving this, as I have done for nearly 28 years—of the profound effect it has on the Australian people with reference to the cost of living, housing affordability and availability, the provision of services, public infrastructure, the natural environment, and Australian society. One of the main reasons Labor's support is eroding in the electorate is because of the record immigration it has enabled and the disastrous impact it is having. Labor doesn't understand, and as never understood, that immigration must serve Australia's best interests. That's why immigration policy under Labor always works against Australia's interests. It might work in Labor's interest, but that is most definitely not the national interest, no matter what delusions the party may have about it.

One Nation policy on immigration is one that: serves the nation's interests; treats living in Australia as a privilege to be earned, not an entitlement; respects the Australian culture and way of life; and does not divide us based on race. It ensures that people have demonstrated loyalty and allegiance to Australia over a long period of up to eight years before they get citizenship, not the current two years. They can apply for it and for permanent residency. We want to know who these people are. Have they got criminal records? Are they actually going to give their allegiance to Australia? We want to ensure that a significant breach of Australian law by an immigrant, proven in a court, results in immediate deportation and a permanent ban on that person ever coming to Australia again. We want to ensure social cohesion by prioritising immigrants from countries with similar cultures and values and denying immigration to people from countries which don't. We would prioritise immigrants with skills and qualifications that our country needs. We would prioritise Australia's national interest over humanitarian and political considerations, and over international agreements. We would forever ensure that those who come here without permission can never live here or come here again, would not set annual refugee targets and would put Australian interests ahead of international refugee agreements. We would never permit the importation of extremist ideologies incompatible with Australian values like the rule of law, secular democracy and equality, and would deport them if they slipped through. We would never compromise an Australian's ability to obtain employment, enrol in study or secure a home. We would never place an undue burden on public infrastructure and public services, and would never, ever put the safety of Australian people at any risk. It's quite simple.

This means I am very patriotic to my country and the people out there who have been screaming out for so long that they want to have a debate or a discussion on immigration. As we have all seen, Labor's immigration policy does none of these things. It is working directly against our interests. If you want an immigration policy that serves Australia's national interest, you cannot possibly vote for or support Labor. Don't even get me started on the Greens, who hate Australia and actively work against our nationalist interests. The Greens should be completely dismissed from any debate on immigration. As for the coalition, some of them have the right idea, and some do not. They know who they are.

We need a national summit on immigration, and we need a national plebiscite on immigration. We know for a fact the majority of Australians want much lower immigration levels. That's evident constantly, all the time. They're crying out for it. They can't understand why the politicians aren't listening to them. We know for a fact that Labor, the Greens and the coalition don't care that the majority of Australians want much lower immigration. I can say that because we don't see immigration lowered enough to actually look after the Australian people first and foremost.

They all voted against my immigration plebiscite bill. Why? Why wouldn't you give the people a say in this? It's because you think you're better than them. The coalition even said the issue was too complex to put to the Australian people in a plebiscite. I think that's more of an indication of the major parties' contempt for the intelligence of the Australian people, who are more inclined to suffer the impact of high immigration. I was right about immigration and multiculturalism in 1996. Everything I warned about has come to pass. I'm right today. Immigration will be a major issue at the next election, and it's the party with an immigration policy in the national interest that will win votes—you underestimate the Australian people—and I can tell you that won't be Labor.

I'm moving this inquiry because we must have a real national debate on immigration policy, and this could serve as the start. The government's immigration policies are failing Australians. Immigration should be tailored to the wishes of the Australian people. The Australian people are tired of suffering the impacts of high immigration and overcrowding in their daily lives. They're tired of going homeless, paying higher rents and managing their higher mortgage payments. They're tired of waiting for weeks or months for a doctor's appointment or waiting for hours in crowded emergency departments. They're outraged at the extreme importunity by migrants, such as the appalling outbreak of antisemitism in Australia happily promoted by the Greens. Australians want their country back, and it's time we gave them a voice on immigration.

Under this Labor government we've looked at bringing 1½ million people into the country. In January and February this year alone, I think it was 125,000 one month and 100,000 the second. That's in two months alone. I just came from Cairns. They had people running around trying to find accommodation for 60 Sudanese. The fact is that you've got Australians there that are homeless and can't get accommodation, but no; it's alright. We need to bring these people in and find them homes. It's having an impact on us. In 2022-23, 737,000 people were brought into the country, under the Labor government. They brought in 51,605, they say, for the skills. Of the 737,000, only 51,605 were skilled migrants. They say, 'We need it for the building industry and construction.' Of that, only 1,800 had those skills. That was a lie, a scam.

We just can't keep going the way that we are. As I said to you, the people in this place, you're so out of touch with the general public, who've been screaming about high immigration for a long time. Yet you keep putting more pressure on the people with higher electricity and the higher cost of living. Your higher electricity is because you're actually driving the carbon emissions trading scheme with the agreements that you've signed. The fact is that's putting more pressure on the Australian people. Yet you keep bringing more migrants into the country, which is going to cause more carbon emissions, which is going to impact on us. What is it? Is climate change a scam, so high immigration doesn't have an impact on it, or do you really not care? Is it because you're propping up the GDP because you're in a hell of a mess in running the country and we are in a per capita recession, so you need high immigration to prop up the state of the nation? I hope the people wake up to this, because you're absolutely hopeless and incompetent in what you're doing in running this country, and I hope you're thrown out on your rear at the next election. I'll be doing everything that I possibly can to make that happen.

High immigration really needs to be addressed. You haven't listened to the Australian people. I keep saying this all the time. This is where it's really hard. In Queensland, as I've moved across the state and to other states as well—I was in WA just a couple of weeks ago, and this Aboriginal woman came up and said, 'I can't get housing.' She said, 'I'm living in the toilets, and I've been living there for the last 14 months; I can't get housing.' She asked me for assistance, and I said, 'I'm going to see what I can do for you to try and see why you're not getting housing.' This is happening in Queensland. People are living in their cars and they're living under the bridge and in tents and parks. I've been to the parks, and I've fed the homeless. Those are things that I've done. I try to do the best that I can as a member of parliament to assist these people and to get them housing.

Then we have the health issues, as I said to you. These people can't get help. They can't get operations that they require, because there are too many people in the country. We have not provided the infrastructure. We haven't provided the hospitals or the schools. All the problems that we're seeing now are because it was not planned.

The politicians in this place, in the short term that you're here for—three years—only look at this period of time. Long-term vision is not here anymore. You're looking not into the future but at what suits you for the time being. Long-term planning, long-term vision—you don't get it, and that's why the people are suffering all the time. They can't have the operations. You can't get them in. The emergency departments are flat out. We don't have enough doctors. There was a young girl, nine years of age, whose tonsillectomy operation I personally paid for a couple of months ago. She had needed it for seven years, and she couldn't get in to have the operation. She was getting to a stage where she couldn't go to school. She was missing one-third of the term being out of school, and she was in a hell of a mess.

When you see that happening to the Australian people—why am I so adamant about cutting back on immigration in Australia? My duty is to the Australian people first and foremost to ensure that they have the best of health care, education, nursing homes and aged care—to ensure that they have all this. We're not representatives for the rest of the world. We can't do it. When you walk the streets out there, if you really empathised with the Australian people, you would know that this needs to be addressed. The biggest issue that is affecting people in Australia is the immigration levels. It's deplorable. It's a shame on this government that it has allowed it to continue. You're backing your mates out there, whether it's the unions or the big businesses. They want higher immigration, because they're selling more product. Yet it's the average person out there that has to suffer this all the time. They're the ones that have to put up with this, because they can't get the housing. Then you're worried about whether the youth out there will ever own their own home. Another thing we need to address is the housing issue with foreign investment—but that's another issue.

I hope that you will support this motion to have an investigation into this on behalf of the Australian people to discuss this matter and give the people the right to have their say. Let's have a decent debate on this and see where we're headed as a nation. I'll continue to fight for the Australian people.