Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Senator Watt. Minister, the government's just tabled in the House the Migration Amendment (Bridging Visa Conditions and Other Measures) Bill 2023. Isn't it the case that the fact that you are having to, this week, rush through an antirefugee bill to fix up the previous antirefugee bill you rushed through in the last sitting week clearly demonstrates that you've been panicked by Mr Dutton into demonising refugees and, in fact, into abandoning proper legislative process and, indeed, the entire concept of good governance?

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

Senator McKim, the short answer to your question is no.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It certainly looks that way.

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

You would want to characterise it however you would want to to support your extensive social media campaigns. The reality is that the government acted as quickly as possible when we last sat to pass laws so that we could put strict new conditions on the individuals concerned, including ankle bracelets.

Now, as was well traversed in the last sittings, the government was faced with a situation where we had a High Court decision which overturned 20 years of precedent. The reasons for that decision were not provided and have not yet been provided. So the options we had were to do what the Greens party would have done, which is do nothing, or to legislate as best we could in the absence of those decisions. We took the latter option because we take community safety seriously. We weren't prepared to sit back and do nothing, as the Greens party would have had us do, when we were faced with a situation where, now, a relatively large number of individuals, with, in some cases, serious criminal convictions, were released into the community as a result of a High Court decision.

We always said that the laws that we passed when we last sat were going to need refinement and amendment. And I dare say when we receive the High Court reasons, whenever that may be, there may need to be further amendments to ensure both the constitutionality of those laws and their full effectiveness. Senator McKim, if you want to go out to the Australian public and tell them that we don't need to worry about what is now 141 people in the community then be my guest. But we're not going to take that position, because the Albanese government does take community safety seriously, and we will do our best to make sure that the legislation we pass is effective.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKim, a first supplementary?

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's amateur hour in this parliament. Minister, why is Labor continuing to allow Mr Dutton to create a two-tiered system of justice in our country, where some refugees and stateless people have fewer rights than Australian citizens, where they are treated differently under the law, where their human rights are abrogated, and where they are subject to laws that are contrary to both the legal principle of double jeopardy and Australia's international legal obligations?

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, I remind you to address your answers to the chair.

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

Thank you for the reminder, President. Again, I reject Senator McKim's premise in this question. This came down, purely and simply, to a matter of community safety. The government takes that seriously. We welcomed the support of the opposition in passing that legislation, which was necessary to ensure that the Australian community were safe. I find it interesting that the Greens Party want to go around saying to the Australian public that we should do nothing about the fact that 141 or 142 individuals with, in some cases, serious criminal offences, should be released into the community without any form of monitoring. That's what the Greens Party would have done. That's not the Australian government's position. I don't think that's what the community would expect, either. That's why we passed that legislation and will continue to refine it to make it protect people as best we can.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKim, a second supplementary?

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, can you confirm that it is Australian Labor Party policy to oppose mandatory sentencing? Why did the government abjectly cave in to Mr Dutton last week and vote against Labor members' policy to oppose mandatory sentencing? Why have you continued to oppose Labor members' policy this week by introducing mandatory sentencing in your latest anti-refugee bill?

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

These matters were extensively covered in the debate that we had around the legislation that the Greens Party opposed when we last sat. The government makes no apologies for passing tough laws to keep the Australian community safe. It would seem the Greens Party is the only group in this parliament who doesn't think that community safety matters.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator McKim?

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order on relevance: it wasn't about the Greens Party; it was actually about Labor Party policy.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister is being relevant and I will listen carefully to make sure he remains relevant.

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

We make no apologies for taking the Australian people's safety seriously, for legislating quickly to preserve that safety, or for undertaking a range of other measures to keep Australian people safe, including the more than $250 million that was announced today to maintain the protections required under this legislation to provide the Border Force and the Australian Federal Police with the resources they need to enforce that legislation. I'm surprised that the Greens Party thinks the Australian community's safety doesn't matter.