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

At the request of Senators Keneally, Ciccone and Walsh, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Department of Home Affairs is currently overseeing a backlog of 85,000 people still waiting to make their pledge at an Australian citizenship ceremony,

(ii) after years of living in and contributing to our country, prospective citizens are now waiting upwards of two years for a ceremony,

(iii) these Australians are being forced to wait years for the chance to pledge themselves in front of communities they have helped to build,

(iv) citizenship ceremonies are important events that bring our communities together and should be treated with priority,

(v) trials of one-on-one online ceremonies are now taking place and progress is being made, but the Government has provided very little information about who is being included and how long people will need to wait for their ceremony, and

(vi) the Government has not provided vital information to tens of thousands of people who are waiting for their citizenship interviews and tests; and

(b) urges the Government to:

(i) provide transparency to people working to become Australian citizens; and

(ii) act quickly to avoid extending citizenship processing times even further.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again, this motion lacks the attention to detail needed to manage this complex area of policy. Eight thousand people have been conferred citizenship in online ceremonies conducted to date, with more than 750 people having been conferred in this way every single day. Already in 2019-20 more than 166,000 people have acquired Australian citizenship. On 6 April 2020, the acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs made a clear statement outlining the process for online citizenship ceremonies. A dedicated link is available through the Home Affairs website: covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that motion No. 553 be agreed to.