Sean Bell (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question goes to the Minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, Senator Watt. Minister, the number of people living in Australia unlawfully could be as high as 200,000. This includes bridging visa holders who have let their visas lapse, failed protection applicants still here after refusal, people working illegally, breaching their visa terms, and others. At a time when everyday Australians, including families across Western Sydney and regional New South Wales, are living in tents and cars due to a housing crisis and essential services are stretched to breaking point, what does this government say to Australians who want to know why more action hasn't been taken to remove illegal immigrants from Australia? What is this government's explanation for allowing so many illegals to remain? And when will serious removals begin?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator. I'd probably like to check those figures before I'd accept that they were accurate. But I've already outlined some of the steps that the government has taken to reduce net overseas migration. You and many other senators on that side of the chamber often like to draw a link between migration and housing without ever acknowledging that you have consistently voted against every effort this government has taken to provide more housing. So maybe get on board with that.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bell, first supplementary?

Sean Bell (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, according to Newspoll, almost two-thirds of Australians want to end mass immigration. Australians are crying out for your government to listen. In New South Wales, housing demand is out of control, schools are overwhelmed and hospitals are at breaking point. So why is Labor more focused on appeasing foreign nationals and visa overstayers than protecting Australian citizens, especially when you have elderly people stuck in emergency departments and families sleeping rough in cars?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, the most recent data show that net overseas migration in Australia is around 17,000 below Treasury's forecast for the first three-quarters of 2024-25, and net overseas migration has now fallen for six quarters in a row in annual terms and it's over 40 per cent down on its peak. It really would be easier to take One Nation seriously, when they try to draw a linkage between housing and migration, if they'd once voted for anything to do with investment in housing.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bell, second supplementary?

Sean Bell (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, I'll just draw you back. This was a question about illegals in Australia. The number that the government will admit to is that there are 75,000 people living in Australia illegally, and yet fewer than five were forcibly deported in September. Again, how can Labor justify this soft approach, with everyday Australians struggling with soaring house prices, rising rents and hospitals under pressure? Is this government working for Australians or for migration agents and university lobbyists?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bell, I've twice now pointed out that your party has consistently voted against everything we've ever done to invest in housing, and yet you continue to draw a link between the lack of housing and migration. We do need more homes in this country. We need them for people who have lived in Australia all their lives, and we need them for new migrants to Australia. You'd have a lot more credibility on this issue if your party hadn't opposed everything we'd ever done to invest in housing.