Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As all Australians know and what is very clear to all on this side—in particular, to those members who have been interested in this debate for a long period of time—citizenship is an institution that forms a bedrock of our society and this government, the Turnbull government, is acting to strengthen its integrity. We have announced a series of reforms designed to make it easier for people to become Australian citizens, to abide by Australian laws and to abide by Australian values. It is easier because we have allowed people to put themselves on a course, knowing full well that if they do not abide by Australian laws and if they do not abide by Australian values they will not become Australian citizens.

We have said that we want people to be able to speak a competent level of English language, and we want that to improve over a course of four years so that people can contribute more—not just in the workplace but so that they can do better at school and so that they can integrate more effectively into Australian society. Do not take our word for it. I will read to you part of a letter sent to me by the Premier of Queensland, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, in March of this year. She said, 'The Queensland government also recognises the importance of English language proficiency in supporting successful settlement.' This is not some crazy right-wing cause; this is mainstream thinking. The fact is that the majority of the Australian public want to provide support to people to be able to improve their English language proficiency so that they can do better at work, so that they can do better in schools and so that they can, more easily, integrate into Australian society. That is the agenda of this government. We are not going to back down, because we have spoken, over the course of the last couple of years, to the Australian public about their ideas, in this space, and they fully support the agenda of the government in this regard.

We have also announced a number of other measures, including increasing the period of permanent residency in the run-up to citizenship from one year to four years. In Germany it is eight years; in the United States and the United Kingdom it is four and five years. The fact is, over the course of those four years, people can have the ability to demonstrate that they have integrated into Australian society, that they have abided by the laws and values of this country and that they can become Australian citizens.

It is the case that the Labor Party is divided on this, as they are on border protection. I have watched this movie before—where the leadership of the Labor Party cannot rein in the left of their party. We have seen it again and again and again. We saw it on border protection. We are seeing it in relation to citizenship. And, whilst the Leader of the Opposition might, in his heart of hearts, support what we are doing, the left wing of the Labor Party have completely and utterly monstered him when it comes to this issue. (Time expired)

Mr Hill interjecting—