Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Can I make a couple of comments in relation to what the minister has just said, particularly in terms of process. The matter was referred by the Senate to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. The committee had the benefit of a day of inquiry, which was very useful, and I think we can say it has collectively led to reconsideration of concerns that we, from a coalition perspective, put in our dissenting report, and I think the Greens have raised, not only in relation to the matters we raised in our dissenting report but also in other provisions, which are going to be the subject of certain amendments they are going to put concerning torture and trauma.

It was disappointing that when the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Test Review and Other Measures) Bill 2009 and amendments were put before the Senate we did not have the opportunity to consider these matters in the appropriate committee forum. The committee became aware of these changes by correspondence to our chair after we had concluded our deliberations at the hearing. These are not insignificant amendments. In particular they affect residency requirements regrettably and I will come in a moment to the way this matter was reported in the press. Given the nature and scope of the proposed amendments that initially referred to athletes and subsequently have become a broader category of people, and also in relation to people who have spent periods overseas, offshore workers, I think they and interested organisations should have been afforded some opportunity to come before the Senate committee to express their opinion. There could have been a proper examination and scrutiny and the committee may have heard evidence from them. Perhaps it would have been the appropriate time to have done that. Regrettably those of us on the committee read about it in the press with headlines such as, ‘Athletes get easier run to citizenship,’ and ‘Minister melts to give skater citizenship.’ I had this view of the minister potentially putting on a pair of skates in a press announcement!