Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senators Keneally, Gallagher, McAllister, O'Neill, Sheldon and Ayres, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) the Department of Home Affairs employs over 240 dedicated and hardworking Australians to process visa applications in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory,

  (ii) this is crucial work that ensures the integrity of our visa processing system and is the cornerstone of our sovereignty as a nation,

  (iii) the Federal Government's plan to privatise Australia's visa system threatens the livelihoods of over 240 Australians and their families in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and

  (iv) privatising Australia's visa system will lead to increased costs of visas, greater risks of worker exploitation, data security breaches and will make protecting national security more difficult;

(b) condemns the Federal Government for auctioning Australian jobs off to the highest bidder, and for undermining the integrity of our visa processing system and our nation's sovereignty; and

(c) calls on the Federal Government to guarantee the protection of these 242 jobs in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and the 2000 jobs across Australia, which will be lost under the Morrison Government if they persist with their efforts to privatise Australia's visa system.