Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my great pleasure to rise and speak on the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill 2015. Just 11 days ago, we saw the most shocking of attacks on innocent civilians in Paris—the dreaded Friday the 13th. One hundred and thirty people died at the hands of terrorists and many more have been critically injured and are in a critical or serious condition in hospital. The horror of this tragedy is overwhelming; let us not forget that it is the latest in a series of terrible terrorism attacks. The sheer brutality and the coordination of these attacks have, I think it is fair to say, left every Australian, and nations around the world, in utter shock.

A couple of days after the event, in Geelong I worked with other members of the local community to organise a candlelight vigil to honour those who had died and to send a signal to our region and Australia that in Geelong and Corangamite we deeply care about what had happened. It was a multifaith service. I was joined by members of the Anglican and Wesley churches and also by Mohammad Ramzan, who is the imam of the Geelong mosque. Together, all members of the clergy spoke with great unison condemning these dreadful attacks, and I was very proud to call myself a member of the Corangamite community on this occasion, joined by a number of community leaders, including the member for Corio.

There is no doubt that, as a nation, we have moved quickly to combat the rising risk of terrorism. I want to reflect very briefly on the words of the imam, who spoke with incredible force in his condemnation of Daesh or ISIS. He reminded everyone there that Daesh has also killed half a million Muslims. I have to say that his condemnation was complete and he spoke with great conviction about what had occurred. He is a great member of our community and a very fine example of a Muslim man in our community who is speaking out in utter condemnation against what is occurring by this absolute horror—this death cult—that we are seeing at work all around the world.

This bill is an important part of the response to the heightened increase of terrorism. Australia citizenship involves fundamental responsibilities. Our values unite all Australians while respecting their diversity. The bill provides explicit powers for the cessation of Australian citizenship where a dual citizen engages in support of terrorism. We have seen a number of instances where Australian citizens have been involved in terrorist-related conduct, including some very dramatic recent incidents. What we have with this bill is a bill which revokes Australian citizenship for those dual citizens who fight for a declared terrorist organisation. Being an Australian citizen is not a right but a privilege, and this bill recognises that. As the bill states:

… 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 this bill are a necessary and appropriate response to the evolution of the terrorist threat. As we have heard in this debate, since September last year, when the National Terrorism Public Alert Level was raised to high, there have been some 26 people who have been charged as a result of 10 counter-terrorism operations. That is more than one-third of all terrorism-related charges since 2001, so we are seeing an increasing number of Australians joining extremist groups. We are seeing known sympathisers and supporters of this extremist terrorist activity increasing, and we are also seeing the number of potential terrorists rising. It is pretty horrifying to consider that 110 Australians are currently fighting or engaged with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. Around 190 people in Australia are providing support to individuals and groups in the Syria-Iraq conflicts through financing and recruitment, or are seeking to travel. With the elevation of the terrorism threat in Australia we need to do everything we can as a government to ensure that Australians are safe and that we do everything that we can to keep our community safe.

This bill amends the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 to insert a purpose clause which sets out the fundamental principles upon which the amendments are based. It outlines the circumstances in which a dual citizen ceases to be an Australian citizen through their engagement in terrorism-related activities. It outlines the 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. It provides for the protection of sensitive or prejudicial information in relation to that reporting and monitoring, and it also includes a number of related matters.

The bill applies to a person who is a dual national regardless of how the person became an Australian citizen, including a person who became an Australian citizen upon birth. There is no discrimination. The object of the bill is clear. We will not, as a nation, tolerate Australian citizens who are dual citizens engaging in this sort of activity—they will be stripped of their citizenship.

I want to commend the work of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which I know has worked very hard in a bipartisan way. The committee made 27 recommendations for amendments. In response to the recommendations, government amendments to the bill are proposed and an explanatory memorandum is provided. I want to briefly mention the elements of the bill. Section 33AA provides that:

… a person who is a national or citizen of a country other than Australia renounces their Australian citizenship if the person acts inconsistently with their allegiance to Australia by engaging in conduct specified in subsection (2).

The relevant conduct is:

(a)    engaging in international terrorist activities using explosive or lethal devices;

(b) engaging in a terrorist act;

(c)    providing or receiving training connected with preparation for, engagement in, or assistance in a terrorist act

(d)    directing the activities of a terrorist organisation;

(e) recruiting for a terrorist organisation;

(f) financing terrorism;

(g)    financing a terrorist;

(h)    engaging in foreign incursions and recruitment.

Another key element of the bill is that the law has provided for the automatic loss of citizenship where a person serves in the armed forces of a country at war with Australia. That has been in force since 1949. What this bill does is to expand the section to provide for automatic cessation of citizenship if a person is also a citizen of another country, is overseas and

… fights for, or is in the service of, a declared terrorist organisation …

So there is a fundamental basis on which this bill sits, in that we already have in the law an automatic loss of citizenship where a person serves in the armed forces of a country at war with Australia. A declared terrorist organisation will be a subset of those which are listed for the purposes of terrorism offences under the Criminal Code.

The bill provides that the minister, by legislative instrument, may declare a terrorist organisation for the purposes of this section, where the organisation is directly or indirectly engaged in preparing, planning, assisting or fostering the doing of a terrorist act, or advocates the doing of a terrorist act, and where the terrorist organisation is opposed to Australia or Australia's interests, its democratic beliefs, its rights and its liberties. This bill will very comprehensively attack the very heart of those who seek not just to undermine Australian values, our great country and everything that we stand for, but to destroy the fabric of our nation.

Another key element is section 35A. Section 35A provides a power for the minister to determine a person's citizenship has been lost once they have been convicted of a relevant offence, and upon consideration of relevant criteria. Following the recommendations of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, the list of offences is limited to the most relevant terrorism-related offences with a maximum penalty of 10 years or more. Offences of incursions into foreign states with intention of engaging in hostile activities have also been included through these amendments. This replicates provisions under the repealed Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978 and is important in ensuring that the bill is as effective as possible, given the activities of terrorists overseas. To be considered under this section, a person must be sentenced to at least six years imprisonment or to periods of imprisonment that total at least six years.

A key element of the consideration by the minister is that the minister must be satisfied that the conduct of the person to which the conviction or convictions relates demonstrates that the person has 'repudiated their allegiance to Australia'. And that is what this bill is all about. This goes to the heart of those who repudiate their allegiance to Australia by seeking to destroy the fabric of our society.

The minister must have regard to a range of factors: the severity of the conduct that was the basis of the conviction, the degree of threat posed by the person to the Australian community, the age of the person, the person's connection to the other country of which the person is a national or citizen, Australia's international relations, and any other matters of public interest. So the bill is very comprehensive in ensuring that the minister considers all relevant matters before making a decision to strip citizenship from a dual national.

This is a very important part of the government's response to the terrorism threat. We have seen some terrible incidents here—the terrible shooting at the Lindt cafe in Sydney recently. I have to say that I am very proud to be an Australian. I am very proud to be part of a government which values Australian citizenship so much and which is doing so much as a leader in this world to attack terrorism. ISIS, or Daesh, wants us to be afraid. As a member of my own community who stood at the candlelit vigil, I can say that we stood there in defiance. We will not be afraid. We will calmly and rationally deal with this threat. We will take on the dreaded scourge of ISIS. We are determined to do whatever we can to destroy this terrible threat to our freedom and to our nation and nations around the world. It is my great pleasure to commend this bill to the House.

See this speech in context