Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 35:20 to 40:01
A policy debate regarding whether Australian citizens have a fundamental right to bring foreign partners to Australia to live as a family unit.
Topics: Human rights, Social services
Speakers: Senator David Shoebridge, Hon Murray Watt, Unknown Speaker
through, we'll come back to it whenever you get the figure. Yeah. Because >> Minister, do you believe that if an Australian citizen falls in love with somebody from another country, they have a right to complete the family here to to to um to to bring them to Australia and to complete their family and to commence living together? Do you believe that's a basic right that an Australian citizen?
>> Well, subject to our immigration requirements. I mean, anyone who wants to come to Australia for whatever purpose needs to meet Australia's requirements.
>> Well, I mean, subject to character tests and and those matters that are standard across the board, >> um, if they meet those standardized tests across the board, do you believe that they have a an Australian citizen, if they fall in love with somebody from another country, has a right to complete their family and bring them here and have that family? You think that's
right? as I say, subject to all of the procedures and requirements of Australians of Australia's immigration laws and systems.
>> Well, but your government has now put all these additional barriers in place. Your government has now said that if an Australian citizen falls in love with somebody from overseas while they're here, that they can't put their partner application on here, that they'll have to um uh separated. The application will have to come from offshore. and that the application coming off from offshore will be radically dep prioritized and they'll be waiting on the evidence we've had more than two years. Your government's made that decision taking away that right, haven't hasn't
it? >> I mean the reality is Senator Shoebridge that there are vastly more people living overseas that wish to migrate to Australia than we can possibly accommodate in any one year. And we have
we have to make we have to make decision partner visas
>> and we have to make decisions um around what is a sustainable number of people to migrate to Australia whether it be on partner visas or any other visa. Um um if we were to allow our mig our migration program to be um either completely or mostly swallowed up by one category that would be to the disadvantage of all the other categories of people who want to come here as well. skilled migrants, parent visas, um uh backpackers, every other I mean I had one of your colleagues here earlier saying that we should be letting more backpackers in. Um there are more people who seek to migrate to Australia than we can accommodate. We have to ensure that there's a reasonable spread of categories. Um uh but of course um uh a partner of someone in Australia um you know provided they meet uh all of the requirements within the limits of what we can absorb of course.
>> Well Minister what we have heard the evidence is now established that [clears throat] there's currently under your when your government came in there was a 9-month delay for partner visas. Now, four years into Labor, it's a 23month delay for partner visas. >> And now we've heard that in terms of offshore applications, um, uh, which your government is now making mandatory in many circumstances, that the delay is going to be well north of 23 months. You're effectively taking away the right for Australian citizens to complete their family, to have the person they love come and complete their family, and for them to get on with their life. you've effectively taken away that right.
>> Senator Shoubage, it might assist to give you some context if I get the officials to talk to you about the growth in partner visa applications that we've seen over that period of time. And that might help you to understand why it can't be, you know, an automatic yes to every single person.
>> Um, Minister, so that's your position. There is no right. There is no right. Well, this is this is a question about policy.
>> What I said rather than what you'd like me to
>> Well, this is a question about policy, not about not about numbers. Do you believe that if an Australian citizen falls in love with somebody from another country, that subject to meeting the standard immigration requirements of character, etc., that that Australian citizen has a right to complete the family, to bring the person they love here, and to get on with their life as a couple. Is that a right that you believe?
>> I've already answered that question at least twice and I'd like the officials