SUBJECT | Strengthening the character test | 16 January 2023
BEN FORDHAM: Dan Tehan, the shadow Immigration Minister, is on the line. Dan Tehan good morning.
DAN TEHAN: Morning, Ben, great to be back with you and great to have you back on the airwaves.
FORDHAM: Good on you. Happy New Year to you. Now you were in government for a long, long time and if this is so desperately needed, why didn't you do it?
TEHAN: Well, we tried to, Ben, and we tried for about five years to make these changes, and we couldn't get it through the Senate. Now, in the end, in the lead-up to the last federal election, the Labor Party did move, and they passed this legislation through the House of Representatives, but we didn't have the time then to get it through the Senate. But now that Anthony Albanese has voted for this legislation, and Andrew Giles has voted for this legislation, we want to put it back into the Parliament. It's common sense, as you've said if you're here as a guest of this country and you commit a serious crime of child abuse, domestic violence, date rape, stalking, or assault of a police officer, then you forfeit your right to remain. So we want to put this back. We see it as a real character test of the new Albanese government. They voted for it once in the House of Representatives. Let's pass it, and let's make our community even safer.
FORDHAM: Hasn't the main problem been in the past that you can make these decisions as a government, but then it gets overturned by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal?
TEHAN: Well, that's been one of the problems, and that's why we want to broaden the powers that the minister has under this act to deport people. And that's what this legislation does. That means getting these decisions overturned it becomes less frequent because the minister has the power to be able to act and act according to the legislation. And it means when he boots someone for domestic violence or date rape or child abuse, the AAT won't be able to overturn these decisions in the numbers that they have been.
FORDHAM: Why is it so tricky kicking out serious criminals when it was so easy to kick out Novak Djokovic a year ago?
TEHAN: Well, it's a very good question. It's because the legislation needs to be updated in this manner and that's why we're proposing it. That's why we tried to get it through for five years. It's why, in the end, in the lead-up to the last election, Anthony Albanese and Andrew Giles voted for it because they know it's common sense, but they didn't want to act in the lead-up to an election they saw that this is something that the Australian people would support. So we've given them a good amount of time, nearly 12 months, to reintroduce it themselves. They obviously haven’t acted so this will be a private member's bill to put it on the agenda and hopefully get them to see common sense and move with us, as an opposition, to make the community safer.
FORDHAM: Just on Novak Djokovic, he'll be on the court at the Australian Open Tennis tournament and when you were in government, you said the most important thing is that we protect the integrity of our immigration system but you're also a tennis lover, so you're going to be cheering on Novak Djokovic?
TEHAN: Look, I think it's great to have Novak Djokovic back playing at the Australian Open but the most important thing is the process by which he came back to Australia did keep the integrity of our immigration system. It was done in a way that he wasn't singled out for special treatment or special favour. So it is great to have him back, but it's also very important that we keep the integrity of our immigration system, and that's what this private members bill is all about, is making sure that we have that integrity, that those who come here know that they have to abide by our rules.
FORDHAM: We'll see what the response is from Anthony Albanese today. Thanks so much for joining us bright and early.
TEHAN: Good on you Ben.
FORDHAM: Dan Tehan, the shadow immigration minister.
