Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise in relation to the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Repudiation) Bill 2023. During his contribution just then, Senator Bragg referred to the fact that I have brought to the attention of this chamber many disturbing cases, including one in my home state of Queensland where the victim of rape was contacted by a member of the Queensland Police Service a number of Saturdays ago—approximately two weeks ago—to be told that her convicted rapist had been released into the community following the recent High Court decision. The relevant member of the Queensland Police Service who brought that to her attention was unable to tell this victim of a violent crime what protection measures were in place to deal with this issue.

That is one of the contexts in which we're having this debate at the moment in relation to this new piece of legislation, which has been brought forward, again at the last minute—notwithstanding the fact that the government had months to prepare with respect to this legislation and with respect to the issue. The High Court decision was brought down in June. What was the government doing? What was the government doing in July? What was the government doing in August? What were they doing in September? What were they doing in October? Why is it that this legislation is introduced at the last minute? It's such a significant piece of legislation, dealing with people's rights of citizenship, and it's introduced at the last minute, putting the Senate, again, in an invidious situation where we are seeking the best opportunity to discharge our obligations to apply scrutiny and to act as a check and balance, especially on the executive. Yet, this piece of legislation is brought in at the last minute. It's just unacceptable. This is no way to govern a country. The government is in total reactionary mode. They're reacting to the daily political agenda. It's not acceptable. You can't legislate with respect to serious matters like this on that sort of basis.

All we're doing, by proceeding on this basis, is being put in a position where we may be making a rod for our own back in the future because of the ramshackle way in which the government is engaging in this legislative process. I'm the Deputy Chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee and the Chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee. I take those obligations extraordinarily seriously. As I'm sure is the case with all senators in this place, with respect to legislation, the bills that come before that committee, we take the time to get submissions from the relevant stakeholders, to listen to their views, listen to their perspectives, bring our own judgement to bear and try and be bipartisan and nonpolitical and nonpartisan wherever we can be to get the best results for the Australian people. But, when the legislative process is distorted in this sort of way, where the government has had months: July, August, September, October and nearly the whole of November to get its act together—and we're left in this position? I say to those opposite, especially those in the other place, that there was some extraordinarily out of order invective and rhetoric directed at the leader of my party, the opposition leader, in recent days. I can't imagine anyone in this chamber who would have used the terms and phrases that were used with respect to the opposition leader, who has a proud history as a law enforcement officer, as a policeman.