Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hanson for the question. Unfortunately, Senator Hanson, I am going to have to disagree with the proposition that you have put forward. Why? Because those of us on this side of the chamber, the Liberal-National government, are known for our very strong stance when it comes to border security and ensuring that Australians are safe. What we have announced recently builds on the suite of measures that we have progressively put in place since we were elected to office in 2013.

In the first instance, Senator Hanson, you will be aware that, when we came to office in 2013, we had to clean up the Labor-Greens mess. Labor and the Greens had outsourced our borders to the people smugglers. As a result, in excess of 50,000 people had come to our shores illegally. We, of course, had the issue of children in detention. We, of course, had the issue of detention centre after detention centre being opened. Progressively, we were able to put in policies to restore the integrity back to our borders and to ensure that, as a sovereign government, we decide who comes to Australia and the terms upon which they come.

The government is now, as you know, taking further steps to modernise and strengthen our counterterrorism legislation. The purpose of the amendments that we have announced is twofold: firstly, to keep Australians safe from evolving terrorist threats—and, Senator Hanson, you would be aware that the terrorist threats continue to evolve—and, secondly, to uphold the integrity of Australian citizenship and the privileges that attach to it. As has been outlined by the minister for border protection and the Prime Minister, we will be amending the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 so that a dual national convicted of a terrorist offence in Australia would be eligible to lose their Australian citizenship, irrespective of any custodial sentence. (Time expired)