Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is always a pleasure to rise in this place, following the wise words of the member for Hasluck. Today, I rise in support of the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill 2015. Every Australian who watches or reads the news knows that the threat of terrorism has been increasing around the world. The tragic and senseless attacks on the people of France last week and the people of Mali this week have made it abundantly clear to many of us that the threat is high. In the wake of the attacks that our country has faced in the past 12 months, the support of Australians for a strong approach to the threat of terrorism in our country has grown stronger.

I think it is wise to reflect sometimes that we are indeed the land of opportunity. It is disappointing to see that there are those who have come to this country and who we have let into this country in good faith who seem to take advantage of that. Since September last year, when the National Terrorism Public Alert Level was raised to 'high', it is disappointing to note that we have seen 26 people charged as a result of 10 counterterrorism operations. That is more than one-third of all terrorism related charges since 2001. Currently, around 110 Australians are fighting or engaged with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, and about 190 people in Australia are providing support to these individuals or groups in the Syria-Iraq conflicts through financing, recruitment or seeking to travel.

Sometimes I think it is worth us taking the opportunity to understand a little more about some of the issues we face. Again, it is important to reflect that this is about a minority. As I will touch on a little later, the majority who I have come across in my community genuinely want to be part of the Australian community. Roger Scruton, in the forward to Robert Reilley's book, The Closing of the Muslim Mind, puts it very well and I think it is important for us to reflect on these comments:

Policy makers beware: unless you are ready to admit that you are facing an essentially theological problem in the Middle East, do not go about prescribing solutions, for you may actually make matters worse – particularly by creating the false impression that economic, sociological or political programs can fix what is, in fact, a delusion of faith. They cannot.

He goes on to talk about the need for a reformation that the Islamic world needs to face and which the Christian world dealt with several centuries ago.

Earlier this year the government announced that it would develop amendments to the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 to provide for the removal of Australian citizenship in the case of dual nationals engaged in terrorism related conflict, a measure that is backed by the broader community and by many residents in my electorate of Forde. I think that in this regard it is worth considering what the pledge of allegiance says in the Australian Citizenship Act. Obviously, there are two. The first one reads, 'From this time forward, under God,' and the second one reads, 'From this time forward'. But the rest of it is the same:

I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.

At the end of the day, that is what we are asking these people to do. We have, in good faith, allowed them to come to settle in Australia. They have sought refuge from the difficulties and vicissitudes of life in the Middle East, and we have opened our doors to allow them safe passage and residence here in Australia. I think, given the words in the pledge of allegiance, that it is more than fair that we expect those people to live up to those words.

Therefore, supporting and engaging in terrorist activities are against Australia's interests, and they are a break of that person's commitment and allegiance to our country. If that is the choice they make then I wholeheartedly agree that they no longer deserve to retain their Australian citizenship. It is our citizenship which is the bond that unites us all. It should be respected and not taken for granted.

A review of Australia's counterterrorism machinery has found that the terrorist threat is rising in Australia—specifically, the number of Australians joining extremist groups overseas and the number of known sympathisers and supporters of extremism, as well as the number of potential terrorists. Therefore, this government is taking national security seriously, and this bill is part of that reassessment of our national security position. It looks at the citizenship side of the equation.

It inserts a 'purpose clause', setting out the fundamental principles upon which the amendments are based; it outlines circumstances in which a dual citizen ceases to be an Australian citizen through their engagement in terrorism related activities; it outlines circumstances in which the minister may exempt a person from the operation of the bill; it provides for reporting on and monitoring of the operation of the arrangements in the bill; and it provides for the protection of sensitive or prejudicial information in relation to that reporting and monitoring. The bill applies to a person who is a dual national, regardless of how that person became an Australian citizen and including a person who became an Australian citizen upon birth.

I think it is important to note that our security agencies are currently managing over 400 high-priority counterterrorism investigations, and that this number has more than doubled since early 2014. As stated in the bill, parliament recognises that Australian citizenship is a common bond, involving reciprocal rights and obligations, and that citizens may, through certain conduct incompatible with the shared values of the Australian community, demonstrate that they have severed that bond and repudiated their allegiance to Australia. The new powers in the bill are a necessary and appropriate response to the evolution of this terrorist threat. As the Prime Minister pointed out in his statement today, I think it is evident that as a government we have taken a calm, professional and effective approach to this matter.

Since the commencement of the Nationality and Citizenship Act in 1949, there have been provisions for the automatic loss of citizenship in cases where a dual citizen serves in the armed forces of a country at war with Australia. It is important that our laws are updated to reflect current threats to our country and our values through terrorism related activity.

I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the nature of our multicultural community. The community that I represent in part is in Logan but also in the northern part of the Gold Coast. Particularly in Logan we have a community that has people of some 215 cultures who live and work together in peace and harmony. In the past week, many of us in this place would have taken the opportunity to visit many of our local high schools as they had their graduation ceremonies for this year's grade 12 graduating class. One of the things that struck me in visiting many of those ceremonies was the changing face of the students in our schools reflecting increasingly the multicultural nature of our communities.

I remember at a number of schools young ladies from Sudanese or other African backgrounds who were able to come up on stage and hold their heads high because they were being presented with academic or sporting awards and receiving recognition for their efforts at school. I think it is wise to reflect that in their home countries it is highly unlikely they would have reached grade 12 let alone, if they had, been on stage receiving awards for academic or sporting prowess and, in a number of cases, receiving bursaries to attend university.

I think we as a nation should be very proud of ourselves that we have been able to accept a range of people from the four corners of the globe. As I stand in this place, I am an example of this. My parents arrived from Holland in the mid-1960s. I am a first-generation child of immigrants. I have the honour of representing in this place a community I grew up in as the son of migrants from Europe in the 1960s.

We as a country should not be afraid to stand on the values and ethos on which this country has been built. We should not be afraid to defend those values. We will continue to have open doors to welcome people from the four corners of the world who are seeking to come to Australia and create a better life for themselves and their families. In that regard I strongly support the measures in this bill as we seek to strengthen Australia's anti-terrorism measures. People who disrespect our country, our citizenship and our culture do not deserve to remain here. The Australian way of life is about celebrating our multiculturalism; it is not about segregation. The Australian way of life celebrates freedom, mateship and democracy, not fear, dictatorship or oppression. We will protect the Australian way of life and revoke the Australian citizenship of those who fight against our values. I commend this bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.

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