Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to continue my contribution to the Migration Amendment (Australia's Engagement in the Pacific and Other Measures) Bill and related bill. When I was last on my feet I was speaking about the fact that the bill as currently drafted entrenches discrimination against people with a disability in our migration laws. That is utterly unacceptable, requires urgent attention and I hope will be fixed as part of the passage of these amendments.

There have been many calls over many years for the exemption provided in the Disability Discrimination Act to be removed. As I mentioned in my previous contribution, this included from the United Nations, as recently as 2019, and from a then-Labor-chaired joint standing committee on migration into the migration treatment of disability.

I note that this has been a longstanding unacceptable form of discrimination against people with disability. Because of this government sanctioned discrimination, we're seeing many migrant families on temporary visas in our community, including many of whom who are on a pathway to permanent residency, at risk of deportation simply because they've either developed or incurred a disability or because a family member has a disability. Horrifyingly, this includes families with disabled children even when those children were born here. This is blatant and unconscionable discrimination, and it persists on our law books until otherwise changed.

I note that the Labor Party policy platform, a national platform, says:

People with disability have the same rights as all Australians and Labor believes that governments should help remove barriers to the full exercise of those rights to enable people with disability to participate fully in society and exercise full choice and control over their lives.

That sounds great to us. I love that that's in your platform. How about we see it in the legislation so that we can remove this vestige of discrimination against people with a disability?

In the bill's explanatory memorandum, it said to be eligible for one of these proposed visas that:

it is envisaged that a person will need to be citizen of a participating country and meet age requirements—

and,

have a written offer of employment in Australia and meet standard public interest criteria, including criteria relating to health and character.

It's with that last criteria that the issue emerges. This exemption, that's provided to the Migration Act and the regs by the Disability Discrimination Act, really takes us back to the bad old days when people with a disability were considered a burden on society and when the value contribution that they make to our nation was not properly recognised. I find it just mind-bending that people who live in Australia are protected from discrimination, yet, if you are a migrant or you are wishing to migrate, you can be told to leave or you can be denied entry if you or your child is disabled—you're deemed by the government to be a burden, and this is regardless of what you might be seeking to contribute to this nation. So it's desperately disappointing this amendment bill has been drafted in such a way, so far, that it doesn't seek to redress that discrimination.

This precise issue was recognised by the disability royal commission. I point out that recommendation 4.31 of the recently published report by the disability royal commission calls for a review of section 52 of the Disability Discrimination Act. It's with a view to inform reforms that would eliminate or minimise discrimination in our migration system and reflect our international human rights obligations. So we had the Labor chaired Joint Standing Committee on Migration in 2010 call this out, the UN in 2019 call this out and the disability royal commission point out that this discrimination is entrenched and remains on our law books. The government has made it clear that it's not willing to enact this reform—at least not so far—which is exactly why the Greens have been in good-faith negotiations with the government to scope some modest reforms that would seek to overcome this discrimination. I certainly hope those discussions are concluded in a manner that will allow that discrimination to be removed from our law books with pieces of amending legislation.

As I said at the outset, that's not the only concern we have with this legislation. We will also be seeking to amend the legislation to ensure that humanitarian visas are not subject to this proposed ballot process. That would be deeply inappropriate, as the UNHCR has already recognised. Also we desperately need climate action. If we were truly treating our Pacific neighbours with the respect that they deserve then we would stop approving new coal, oil and gas. It is flooding their food-producing lands. It is imperilling the very existence of some of those low-lying island nations. If we were genuinely treating our neighbours with respect then we would stop approving new coal, oil and gas. This legislation is entirely missing the point. We are demanding climate action. We stand alongside our Pacific neighbours to demand no new coal, oil and gas.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia has had a long, rich history of migration from the Pacific. I've said before on matters of citizenship that New Zealanders are not foreigners—they're family. The same goes for our Pacific family. They are our neighbours, they are our friends and they are our people.

Some of our Pacific history isn't something to be proud of—in the 19th century tens of thousands of Pacific islanders were forced or tricked to come here and work on plantations in Queensland and build railroads—but we are proud of our history of fighting with the people of the Pacific. Pacific islanders fought with Australians in the Second World War. At a time when they were treated by many as second-class citizens, many worked alongside Australian soldiers—sometimes until they dropped. It is said that no living Australian was left behind, not even during heavy combat. The compassion of the Pacific islanders earned them the eternal gratitude of Australian soldiers and the nickname 'fuzzy wuzzy angels' became legendary.

When the 2022 floods hit Lismore, soldiers from the Republic of Fiji were here for a war exercise in the Coral Sea. They spent their first full day in Australia with the 8th/9th Battalion rebuilding an access road. Over the next few weeks the forces continued to support our defence forces fixing bridges, removing dangerous debris and generally assisting in the New South Wales clean-up.

It makes sense to enable faster migration for people from the Pacific. While we need to be careful that we don't steal their workers, we do need to streamline the migration process for those who wish to come here. A streamlined approach to migration from the Pacific will also enable a streamlined process for these people to citizenship. And guess what? Our citizenship will enable entry to the Australian Defence Force. Here in Australia we are struggling to fill our enlistment quotas, let alone keep people, so why not increase the pool of people the ADF can recruit from? Here's something novel: why not streamline the process even further for those Pacific islanders who want to join our Australian Defence Force and encourage them to do so? These people are our family. If they want to join the Australian Defence Force, we should do everything we can to make sure that happens. It shouldn't be that difficult. We know that it's difficult for Australians to join. It takes months and months. Seriously, if we could get this down pat, it would be really nice. I can only hope that we could lean on them, and the New Zealanders in the future, and have that very open invite for our Defence forces. Not just talking about it. I'm sick of the walk and talk here about our Defence forces working together, but actually having a revolving door. If you want to come here and serve our country, good for you. Your visa should be ticked off very quickly and you should be allowed in those boots. Because by God we need you.

We have Pacific islanders out there who are going to be climate refugees. Let's talk about that. Do you want to move them all at once? Let's get this on the board and talk about this, because this is what happening. This is what is real. At the same time we need to make sure they're safe. We have an amendment that the Jacqui Lambie Network will be putting up. That amendment is pretty simple. This whole lottery process—you can't be bloody serious, can you? Right now that 3,000 people—you should be reducing this to what you need in this country. What you need right now are carers out there. You need child carers and aged carers. We need them by the thousands. So while you're doing your lottery draw, just like I have spoken to Senator Wong last week, you need to reduce that. We need certain people. If you want to leave it to a lottery draw in the end, because you can only bring in 3,000—where does the number 3,000 come from? Because by God, we need a lot more than that in aged care. We need a lot more than that in child care. We need more than that out on our farms.

These Pacific islanders have proven themselves over and over again. They are reliable and trustworthy and they love Australia as much as we do. So where does your cap of 3,000 come from, for goodness sake? Isn't it better to start moving them now than to wait for their islands to start going under? I would have thought to start getting them settled here and make sure that they feel belonging here would be great unity for this country.

So I'm not sure about your lottery process. I'm happy to support this, but your number 3,000, I don't understand why it can't be more. Like I said, they are proven. I can't understand why we can't target where these jobs are going, because that is what it should look like. So if your lottery is not bringing that up and I can't get more about this whole lottery system, then we're probably going to have a problem with votes in here. But you're going to have to refine your lottery system. So I will leave that with you and I will allow you people to discuss that over the next 15 or 20 minutes or whenever you want to take the vote. But right now we're not keen.

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

I rise to sum up the debate on the Migration Amendment (Australia's Engagement in the Pacific and Other Measures) Bill 2023 and the Migration (Visa Pre-application Process) Charge Bill 2023. These bills support the introduction of a new Pacific engagement visa allowing up to 3,000 nationals of Pacific countries and Timor-Leste to come to Australia as permanent migrants each year. The new Pacific engagement visa is an important initiative of the government's plan to build a stronger Pacific family. It is designed to grow the Pacific and Timor-Leste diaspora here in Australia. Importantly, the program will address the underrepresentation of some of our closest neighbours in Australia's permanent migration program. In 2021-22 less than a thousand permanent migrants from Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste made Australia their home. That is just 0.7 per cent, less than one per cent, of the total permanent migration intake of 143,536 people that year.

The Pacific and Timor-Leste diaspora already make an incredible contribution to Australian communities and have done so for many years. This government wants to grow and support the Pacific diaspora communities in Australia. That aspiration is part of our wider agenda for strengthening Australia's relationships with the countries of the Pacific and Timor-Leste. The new Pacific engagement visa will create new opportunities for people of the Pacific and Timor-Leste to live, work and be educated in Australia. This will deepen our bonds as peoples and enrich our communities and countries.

The Pacific engagement visa was a commitment the Albanese government took to the last election. Since coming to office last year, the Albanese government has consulted closely with Pacific partners and Timor-Leste on the Pacific engagement visa. These discussions have been invaluable, and we have designed the Pacific engagement visa program in response to their feedback. These bills are the first steps in enabling implementation of the visa.

The Pacific engagement visa will establish a permanent resident visa program for participating countries across the Pacific and Timor-Leste. Up to 3,000 visas, inclusive of partners and dependent children, will be allocated annually through a ballot process. A ballot system will ensure equal and transparent access to the visa pathway. The ballot will be open to eligible nationals of participating Pacific countries and Timor-Leste. This will include Pacific nationals already in Australia on a valid temporary visa, such as those working here under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. Eligible participants aged 18 to 45 will register in the ballot. Participants randomly selected in the ballot can then apply for the Pacific engagement visa and include their partner and dependent children in their application. To be granted a visa, they will need to meet eligibility criteria, and these visa eligibility criteria will include having a job offer in Australia and meeting English language, health and character requirements. An offshore service provider will work directly with successful ballot entrants to connect them with employers in Australia, providing access to a variety of roles at a range of skill levels. The service provider will also guide successful entrants through the visa application process. It will also deliver culturally and linguistically relevant program outreach and help prepare visa holders for life in Australia.

While finding employment in Australia will be an important first step, we know the success of this initiative will ultimately depend on a positive settlement experience for each individual or family. That's why the government is extending supports and services to Pacific engagement visa holders upon their arrival in Australia. In addition to access to Australia's universal health care and public schooling systems, participants will be eligible for post-arrival settlement support through the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support Program. They will also have access to the Adult Migrant English Program.

We are committed to growing a vibrant and engaged diaspora through this visa. As such, it is important that participants are ensured basic levels of economic security. Subject to the passage of a separate bill, the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Australia's Engagement in the Pacific) Bill 2023, Pacific engagement visa holders will have access to benefits to support the cost of raising a family and ease the financial burden of education and training. This will include access to family tax benefit A and eligibility for a health care card and rent assistance. To promote opportunities for education, career development and economic mobility, participants will have access to the Higher Education Loan Program, VET student loans, Austudy and youth allowance payments. Access to education and training will broaden the scope of participation across a range of skill levels and experiences, addressing concerns in our region around brain drain.

I want to update the Senate on the role of the visa pre-application process, or ballot, in the Pacific engagement visa. There will be a two-stage process in applying for the visas. In the first stage, interested persons will register in a ballot. The ballot will then randomly select people to proceed to the second stage of applying for the visa. The use of a ballot is based on Pacific migration schemes that have successfully operated in New Zealand for decades. The ballot will give all interested Pacific islanders an equal chance of being selected to apply for a visa, regardless of skill levels. This will help avoid brain drain from Pacific countries. It will also reduce processing times and costs, making the visa more affordable and accessible for low-income Pacific nationals. The role of a ballot has been supported by Pacific governments as a way of avoiding brain drain and ensuring fairness in giving their people access to the new visa. In conclusion, the Pacific engagement visa is a key element in the government's policies for strengthening and deepening Australia's Pacific relationships. It will strengthen our links with the Pacific family and deepen our ties to the region that is our home and critical to our future.

Debate adjourned.

Ordered that resumption of debate be made an order of the day for the next sitting.