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

[by video link] It is time to close Australia's international border to non-Australian citizens and protect our nation from state premiers obsessed with endless lockdowns triggered by imported variants of COVID-19, which the government claims are more dangerous.

More than 1.67 million people have flooded into Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, while Australians themselves are virtually imprisoned in their own states and homes. It's an appalling double standard. Australian workers and families can't cross domestic borders, yet thousands and thousands of international workers and visitors have been given a free pass to cross the international border. The latest international visa and arrival data reveals the Morrison government issued more than 20,000 visas in June this year, and has issued more than 164,000 since April last year. These include more than 46,000 work related visas, 25,000 temporary visitor visas, almost 3,000 student visas, more than 26,000 family visas and 63,000 other permanent and temporary visas.

While the Prime Minister keeps the international border open, premiers will continue to slam state borders shut and put millions of people into lockdowns that are destroying lives, jobs and businesses, breaking our economy and leaving a huge legacy of public debt. Scott Morrison may not be able to control state borders, but he can shut the gate to foreign arrivals who are bringing COVID-19 to our shores. He should give an end date of 1 December for people to be vaccinated—if they wish, not forced—then declare no more state border closures. He should set a target to open international borders by May 2022.

It is quite evident what is happening around the world: people are learning to live with COVID. No government or business has a right to coerce, bully, bribe or threaten people into being vaccinated. That sounds like a communist regime to me, not a democracy. We can't continue with these lockdowns. Something has to give.