QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS
Senator O'NEILL (New South Wales) (15:16): I rise to make a contribution with regard to the question that was asked about migration reforms, a very important announcement today. Australians like me—decent, law-abiding Australians—understand that a visa is an important document. I say this very clearly.
If you want to come to Australia temporarily, you should apply for a temporary visa. If you want to be here permanently, you should apply for a permanent visa. If you are not entitled to a visa or your visa runs out, you should leave.
This is a very simple proposition. This is what ordinary, decent Australian citizens, which includes migrants from all around the world who play by the rules and who accept the rule of law in this country, all believe. It's not an unreasonable ask.
This is the important announcement that has been made today to clarify that position. We are making changes to give us more control over who arrives, who stays and who leaves. Australia is indeed a great multicultural nation, and I see, from people in the chamber here, that many of you will be sharing with me in the celebration of the diversity that gives us incredible advantages and trading right across the world.
Multiculturalism isn't our problem, but abuse of these visas by people who have tried to take a loan of the goodness of Australian people is something we need to change. We're making changes to Working Holiday Maker, and the reason that that has to happen is to make sure that it is sustainable and that the support that's needed in regional Australia is able to be delivered by people who are staying within the rules, not the ones who are abusing their visa and who should leave the country because they no longer have a right to be here.
Australia supports the Working Holiday Maker program, but it needs to be managed in a fair way to support our economy and to provide good experiences for people in Australia. It should not be pitting people in regional Australia against people in the cities. We need people to come in and help us, to fulfil the jobs that we have, and pitting one Australian against another, pitting one part of the country against another, is a technique we're seeing from the Liberal-National Party joined in by One Nation.
The new ballot arrangements that have been announced are going to improve the fairness, the transparency and the sustainability of visa allocation processes where there's more demand than there are places. These reforms will help ensure that the program continues to meet genuine labour market needs to support both regional Australia and businesses in the city that need this labour.
We need to undertake these changes to reduce the risk of worker exploitation and to contribute to sustainable migration outcomes. Many of those who come to Australia on a student visa come here for the duration of their course. They complete their studies and then they depart.
This is the expectation when a student visa is granted. But unfortunately we've seen the prevalence of this practice of visa hopping among people on student visas. They've created a cohort of what you could call 'permanent temporary migrants'.
It's not sustainable. They hop from one visa to the next to try to stay in Australia. You can understand why they want to stay, but they need to understand that if you are not entitled to a visa or your visa runs out then you should leave.
Today we made that very clear, and the government will continue to protect the interests of Australia and our economy. (Time expired)