A committee boasting a trio of Labor senators has condemned the rush to pass Prime Minister’s Anthony Albanese’s ‘Trump-style’ immigration legislation.
The Senate Committee scrutinising bills features three Labor senators – deputy chair Raff Ciccone, Tony Sheldon and Jess Walsh – alongside two Liberals and one Greens senator.
The group quietly tabled a report on Wednesday criticising Labor’s proposed migration amendment, which could prevent citizens from up to five countries from travelling to – even as tourists.
But even the Labor-majority committee warned: ‘It is not clear why such a power is necessary.’
The senators have now demanded Immigration Minister Andrew Giles explains his reasons for the legislation.
Among the group’s primary concerns was the haste with which Labor had hoped to push the bill through Parliament during the last sitting week.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil have both faced significant scrutiny since trying to push the bill through
Anthony Albanese’s bill has been compared to the ‘Trump travel bans’
‘Truncated parliamentary processes by their nature limit parliamentary scrutiny and debate,’ warned the report.
‘This is of particular concern in relation to bills that may seriously impact on personal rights and liberties.’
Under the proposed legislation, the immigration minister have extraordinary powers to ban tourists from a handful of nations who do not co-operate with when their citizens are deported against their will.
The committee said they had ‘heightened concerns’ about the minister’s powers to remove lawful non-citizens who may have been granted visas in .
The report found these people could be left with ‘no certainty or clarity as to when a visa may be subject to a removal pathway direction’.
Labor had hoped the legislation would sail through both chambers last week, but ran into trouble when it became clear the Coalition would side with the Greens to delay it for more rigorous scrutiny.
It will now be subjected to a senate inquiry with the expectation it will return to the senate in the same week the Budget will be handed down.
The committee’s report described the potential new laws as ‘clearly a significant and rights-affecting matter’ and noted ‘it is not clear why such a power is necessary’.
‘The committee notes that there has recently been a number of significant changes to the legislative framework for migration, with each such case being rapidly proposed to and passed by the Parliament outside of the normal processes.
‘Such rapid changes prevent certainty in the law, which is of concern noting that the changes in this bill, as discussed in this entry, may have a significant impact on the rights and liberties of the individuals affected.’
A trio of Labor senators have taken part in a committee which condemned the rush to pass ‘Trump-style’ immigration legislation. Pictured: Jess Walsh
The Senate Committee tasked with scrutinising bills is comprised of three Labor senators – deputy chair Raff Ciccone, Tony Sheldon and Jess Walsh – as well as two Liberals and one Greens senator
READ MORE: Frustrated Natalie Barr erupts at Anthony Albanese’s home affairs minister as fresh criminal asylum seeker bungle is exposed
Sunrise host Natalie Barr (right) asked Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil (left) how the Labor government had issued 149 invalid visas to freed immigration detainees
The committee said ‘legislation that may trespass on personal rights and liberties, should be subject to a high level of parliamentary scrutiny’.
Mr Giles has been called upon to ‘respond to the committee’s concerns’.
The countries which could be blacklisted if these laws pass include Iran, Iraq, Russia, South Sudan and Zimbabwe.
These countries do not accept citizens who have been deported from , and the government hopes a travel ban could force them to back down.
The travel ban proposal comes as the government braces for a High Court case on April 17, known as ASF17, which could further reignite controversy over its handling of immigration.
The government spent weeks under fire after the High Court’s decision in the NZYQ case last November saw 149 detainees – including criminals – released onto the streets.
The applicant in this new case is an Iranian man who is refusing to cooperate with his deportation because he fears he will face the death penalty if he returns to Iran because he is bisexual.
As it stands, there are up to 200 people in immigration detention who are in similar circumstances, and the government fears the High Court could order their release before Parliament signs off on changing the rules.
Human rights lawyers have described it as ‘the pure definition of discrimination,’ and ‘Trumpian’, while others have questioned whether Labor would have ever supported the Coalition if roles were reversed.