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

Australia's immigration system is broken. It no longer works in the interest of the Australian people. Immigration policy from both parties of government, Labor and the coalition, does not reflect the views of the Australian people. It's driven by big business and is used to prop up an economy brought low by poor government decisions. Poll after poll shows most Australians think immigration is too high or should be lowered. A staggering 1.4 million people have been brought to Australia since Labor won power in 2022. That's more than the entire population of Adelaide, our fifth-largest city. There has never been such a massive increase in our population in all our history.

Last year I called for a national plebiscite on immigration to determine once and for all the views of the Australian people. Labor, the coalition and the Greens blocked it. This shows that they do not care about the Australian people's views on immigration. It shows that they do not care about the increasing number of Australians struggling to find secure accommodation, struggling to afford increasing rents or trying to survive on the streets. It shows they don't care about the inflation caused by high immigration or its overwhelming impact on services and infrastructure.

I care because I'm an Australian fighting for a decent standard of living for myself, my family and the Australians relying on me to fight for them. One Nation listens to the Australian people on immigration, and we develop our policies accordingly. Late last year, the Department of Home Affairs revealed that more than 75,000 visa holders were in Australia illegally. Under our policy, all of them would be deported immediately. Under our policy, they would not be able to appeal their deportation to the Administrative Review Tribunal.

During the previous two financial years, just over 1.4 million people came to Australia courtesy of the Albanese Labor government, an average of 700,000 per year. These numbers are obscene. One Nation will cap arrivals at 130,000 per year, a drop of 570,000 per year from Labor's record numbers. This will allow Australia to catch its breath, catch up with housing and catch up with services and infrastructure. One Nation's policies introduce a minimum eight-year waiting period before immigrants can apply for Australian citizenship and the privileges that come with it. Over this eight-year period, immigrants will be required to consistently demonstrate that they are fit to become Australians. We want to reinforce the principle that Australian citizenship is a privilege to be earned, not an entitlement to be given away.

Foreign students will be included in our 130,000-a-year cap. Australian universities must be broken of their addiction to foreign students and forced to prioritise the tertiary education of Australian students. With modern communications technology, there is no compelling reason why most of these students can't do Australian courses at home—unless, of course, you factor in the amount of money they send back home from Australia. In 2023, this figure was $10 billion—not million, billion. It's a scam to take jobs and wealth from Australians, and we're going to put a stop to it.

One Nation's policy will also stop those on student visas from using the system as a back door to permanent residency and will prevent students from bringing family members here. Our policy also demands the reinstatement of temporary protection visas and Australia's withdrawal from the UN refugee convention. TPVs are a proven means of deterring people smuggling, stopping the boats and stopping those arriving by plane. Labor is keeping things quiet, but it's well known that people smugglers are constantly testing our borders, and more boats have made it to the mainland in recent months. Under our policy, immigration from nations known to foster extremism will be prohibited. The major parties' failure to screen out extremists at the border is directly responsible for the unrest and violence we've seen on our streets and in our suburbs. One Nation is the only party with a strong immigration policy that reflects the will of the Australian people. That's because we're the only party that puts Australia and Australians first.