MOTIONS
Senator HANSON (Queensland—Leader of One Nation) (12:40): I seek leave to move a motion relating to ISIS fighters, as circulated. Leave not granted. Senator HANSON: Pursuant to contingent notice of motion standing in my name, I move: That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to ISIS fighters.
The PRESIDENT: Consistent with previous rulings of the chair, repeated suspensions of standing orders should not be used as a means to frustrate the business of the Senate. I will allow this suspension motion, but a third will not be entertained. Senator HANSON: Thank you very much.
I move that the motion relating to ISIS fighters may be moved immediately, have precedence over all other business and be determined without amendment. There is no more urgent consideration before this parliament than the safety and security of Australia and its people. It is the first responsibility of this parliament, and it's not something we can afford to kick down the road.
People who left Australia to join the depraved ISIS terrorist cult have been allowed to return, and this Labor government has actively helped them despite saying it would not. These people represent a direct threat to the safety of Australians and the security of this nation. There are more of them.
Thirteen men linked to ISIS and currently held in a Baghdad prison may soon be released. They may seek to return to Australia as well. They include Tareq Kamleh, also known as 'Dr Jihad'— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Hodgins-May ): Senator Hanson, there's a point of order.
Please take your seat. Minister. Senator Gallagher: [Inaudible] debate on the suspension, not on the substantive.
So I'm just asking you to bring Senator Hanson back to the argument, which is about why this should be considered urgent to be debated. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. Senator Hanson, please do bring it back to that point.
Senator HANSON: I believe that I am. He is known as Dr Jihad, who appeared in ISIS propaganda and called for Muslims everywhere to join ISIS or conduct jihad everywhere. The Minister for Home Affairs has said that the law leaves him with no other option than to permit the return of these people, despite the threat they pose.
That's why it is urgent for the Senate to bring the Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters Bill to debate immediately. If the law does not currently prevent these people from returning, our duty to the Australian people is to change the law. One Nation is acting where the Labor government has failed to act.
The bill creates a new foreign terrorist fighter exclusion order. This is in addition to the existing temporary exclusion order regime. The new order allows the minister to go to the Federal Court and establish that the person poses an unacceptable risk— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Hanson, can you please really focus on the urgency component of this?
Senator HANSON: I can explain the urgency—why this is needed. That is quite clear, in why the bill needs to be introduced into the chamber. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Speak to the urgency, not the substantive.
Senator HANSON: I'm sorry—if the Labor Party doesn't like what I'm reading out here, telling the people why we desperately need this, then they have the problem with this. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I'm the chair, and I'm asking you to keep it to the urgency component of the suspension, please. Senator HANSON: The urgency is that it needs to go to the courts.
The bill needs to be introduced so it can go to the courts to keep these people out of the country. That is the urgency of this motion. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Please continue but, as I reiterated, on the urgency component.
Senator HANSON: This is in addition to the existing temporary exclusion order regime. The new order, which is urgent, allows the minister to go to the Federal Court and establish that the person poses an unacceptable risk based on the advice of security agencies. It is measured and it is robust.
Judicial oversight is maintained. It also strengthens terrorism bail laws and passport powers, and it imposes serious penalties on people who unlawfully facilitate the return of terrorist fighters. One Nation strongly believes that every possible legal measure must be employed to prevent the return of terrorists to our shores.
We must take all possible steps to ensure the safety of Australians. Labor's approach to this issue has been to hide behind advice about constitutional questions. This is why there's urgency.
The government should table this advice instead of keeping Australians in the dark and stop using it as a convenient excuse for failing to act. I say let the High Court determine whether a law is constitutional, because that is its job. We can't afford to sit on our hands and wait.
Labor has stood by while two ISIS linked women on serious charges were released into the community on bail. Labor has said they won't assist the return of these 13 men imprisoned in Baghdad, but that's what they said about the so-called ISIS brides they helped to return. Labor can redeem itself by allowing this debate and supporting One Nation's legislation.
The safety and security of the Australian people demand no less. We should act before these men are released. We must put in place every possible barrier to prevent their return.
One Nation has done its part by drafting this bill to protect Australians. We ask that the Senate suspend standing orders to debate our bill and put the safety of Australians first, and that's a matter of urgency.