Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very proud that the Labor Party has today announced that it will oppose the Turnbull government's proposed changes to the citizenship test. Let me be clear about this right from the start: this is not a proposal by a government about strengthening Australia's national security, despite the flim-flam words delivered by those opposite. This is not a proposal by the Turnbull government that implements a recommendation by ASIO, or the AFP or any of our security agencies. This is not a proposal by the Turnbull government that will prevent terrorism.

Labor has shown absolute bipartisanship when it comes to legislation that strengthens Australia's national security, and we will always do so. It has been our position to support each tranche of national security legislation put forward by the Turnbull government or by the Abbott government, before he was rolled by Mr Turnbull. We have at times made suggestions for improvements to that legislation, but we have always done it in a bipartisan and supportive manner. Labor's position will be to continue to support any legislation that strengthens Australia's national security.

But this legislation—this dog whistle attempt—does not concern issues of national security. It is a political wedge, a political tactic: cheap political tactics. Let's be clear: this legislation about citizenship will only apply to people who live here. It is not about preventing people entering; it will only apply to people who have been granted a permanent visa to live in Australia and who are living here now. It applies to people who are already living in our communities—to people who are already working in our hospitals, our schools and our service industries. These are people who are already experiencing the Australian way of life.

This proposal will just mean that those people who are already living in our communities will have to wait longer, or may never be eligible, to become Australian citizens or to become fully immersed in the Australian way of life. This legislation will increase the English language requirements for citizenship to a competency equivalent of those entering university, the IELTS level 6. There are some Australian citizens, born in Australia, who have had English as their first language but who would struggle to pass that level of English competency—not to mention Indigenous Australians, obviously, where English is not their first language.

There will be many migrants with English as their second language who will not be able to attain that level of English competency. And why do they need to? It is the arrogance of this Turnbull government to assume that everyone aspires to the level of a tertiary education. All this legislation will do is to create an isolated underclass of people living in Australia on permanent visas but who cannot attain citizenship because of an artificial education barrier imposed by this government.

As you well know, Mr Deputy Speaker Georganas, since World War II, basically, only conversational English was required to become an Australian citizen, and seven million Australians have made that journey. They are people who have come from countries across the seas. And so when we analyse the purpose of a language test, it is only to make sure that the person can participate fully in their community through language. It has never been necessary to raise it to the academic standard for Australian citizens. That has never been the Australian way. It means that this piece of legislation will discriminate against members of our community because they do not meet a particular academic standard. That is the opposite of what the egalitarian Australia I believe in is. It discriminates against members of our community because they have not had the educational advantages that some of us have enjoyed, and that is not the Australia I believe in. Nor is discriminating against members of our community because English is their second language; that does not necessarily mean that they are not good Australians. This proposal by the Turnbull government, by Minister Dutton, is divisive and could erode the successful multicultural community that we now enjoy in Australia.

Moreton, my electorate, is a very diverse multicultural community. We have a large Chinese community and also Taiwanese, Indian, former Yugoslavs, Pacific Islanders, Somalis, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Sudanese, Rwandans, Filipinos, South Africans, Indigenous Australians—obviously—New Zealanders, Fijians, Koreans and Vietnamese, to name but a few. And, of course, there is a very strong Greek community as well. In fact, my sons play for the Olympic Soccer Club. Many of those Greek migrants who came to Australia were not able to speak strong English when they became Australian citizens. It would be horrible to think that they would be excluded from that by this new piece of Turnbull legislation.

The whole Moreton community that I represent is richer because of the contribution made by these ethnic communities and by the Indigenous communities. I am glad that I am raising my family in a diverse community. They go to diverse schools with a mix of people from all around the world—a mixture of faiths and backgrounds. Every member of our community deserves to feel valued, whether they were born here or migrated here.

I know that this piece of legislation is a political stunt, rather than a message from our security agencies to make our community stronger. It was only a piece of legislation put forward by a Liberal senator from New South Wales and supported with information from a former Liberal MP. None of our security agencies have made this recommendation.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for the grievance debate has expired. The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 192(b). The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting, with the member for Moreton in continuation.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:30