I want to turn now to the Opposition’s perspective. Paul Scarr is the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Shadow Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. Paul Scarr, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.
Senator Scarr
Good to be with you, Melissa, and good to be with your listeners.
Melissa Clarke
Yesterday, the Prime Minister said the Government hopes that efforts to combat antisemitism will be put above politics. Is the Opposition able to work with the Government to make sure there can be bipartisan support for changes to do just that?
Senator Scarr
Melissa, we will work with anyone who is prepared to take the appropriate action to address the explosion in antisemitism that has occurred in this country following those horrific terrorist attacks on 7 October and in the aftermath of the tragedy of the Bondi massacre. We believe more needs to be done, and the Coalition Task Force yesterday released a whole raft of measures, as you were discussing with the Assistant Minister, which go much further than what the Government is proposing.
Melissa Clarke
I’ll come to your proposals in just a moment. I want to understand your level of support in the Opposition for the Government’s proposals. One of the key ones is new Commonwealth offences for aggravated hate speech and serious vilification. Is that something you would support?
Senator Scarr
Well, from my perspective, those offences are moving in the right direction, there’s no question about that. But it comes down to the drafting of the offences, the consequences of the offences, and how those offences fit within a broader raft of reforms. Those reforms must include implementation of all 49 recommendations, modernising and strengthening our counter‑terrorism laws, and looking at measures such as stripping citizenship from dual citizens.
Melissa Clarke
Given the work required to implement those newer, broader offences, is it reasonable for the Prime Minister to point to Parliament resuming in the new year as the appropriate timeframe?
Senator Scarr
I am strongly of the view, and the Coalition is strongly of the view — that Parliament should be recalled now. Parliament needs to be recalled now. Given what happened last Sunday, given the urgency of this matter, and given the calls from the Australian community, particularly from the Jewish community, I think a strong message needs to be sent that Parliament is being recalled and we are tackling these issues urgently. We should do whatever we can immediately and then continue the work into the new year. But I believe recalling Parliament now would send a strong and profound message.
Melissa Clarke
You’re listening to Radio National Breakfast, and my guest is the Shadow Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Paul Scarr. Paul, to the Coalition’s proposals for combating antisemitism, one of the key ones is blocking visas for any person coming from a known terrorist enclave unless decision‑makers can be very confident around an applicant’s identity and their comprehensive security and character assessments. Can you explain the difference between current visa processes and what you are proposing?
Senator Scarr
It’s the degree of analysis of the person’s background, character, what they’ve engaged in or may have engaged in, their affiliations, and it really is a risk‑based approach. It seems to me completely common‑sense that if someone is coming from one of those areas you’ve described as a terrorist enclave, then we must be on heightened alert and apply a new level of scrutiny based on a risk‑based assessment.
Melissa Clarke
The Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, says there are already clear and comprehensive security checks for people coming from places like Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, a prescribed terrorist organisation. Do you not have confidence in the security screening already being done?
Senator Scarr
A lot of people coming from those areas arrived very quickly, and concerns were raised at the time as to whether there was sufficient time for appropriate checks to be made. So, from our perspective, there needs to be an embedded level of heightened scrutiny, heightened decision‑making, and elevated assessment for people coming from those areas. I think that is necessary.
Melissa Clarke
You’ve also proposed stripping dual citizens of their Australian citizenship where they’ve engaged in terrorism‑related conduct. How would that work? We already have laws that allow judges to consider this in certain circumstances, but it has proven difficult to implement due to constitutional provisions. How would you expand that power for the Minister?
Senator Scarr
First, we would expand the elements that trigger the power to strip citizenship from dual citizens. If you go to the relevant provisions in the Citizenship Act, you’ll see a list of triggers for that power, we would expand those to capture hate preachers and others disseminating antisemitic material or engaging in that sort of conduct. Second, this only applies to dual citizens. The Assistant Minister referred to people not being left stateless, which is correct. This would only apply to people who hold another citizenship as well as Australian citizenship.
Melissa Clarke
You’ve also called for more funding for security agencies. How much more funding is needed?
Senator Scarr
This is a big question, and it was raised by the whistleblower from the Australian Federal Police last year, who expressed concerns about insufficient funding to properly monitor people on terrorist watch lists. That is deeply concerning.
Melissa Clarke
Krissy Barrett hasn’t suggested she needs more funding. She says the Government has provided what she requested. What specifically requires more funding?
Senator Scarr
Our counter‑terrorism organisations must be funded to the level required to carry out their work — there’s no question about that. I understand the position the AFP Commissioner is in. We must ensure the AFP, ASIO, and others are sufficiently funded. There are so many threats facing Australia, including foreign interference, which rightly takes resources from the AFP and ASIO. We must ensure they have enough funding to undertake all these functions. These are extremely important roles, and we have seen their importance following last Sunday’s attacks.
Melissa Clarke
Paul Scarr, thank you very much for taking me through your plans. Appreciate you joining us this morning.
Senator Scarr
Thanks, Melissa.
