Strengthening the Character Test Bill – What Can You Do?
In the next sitting of Parliament, the Coalition intends to bring on a vote on the Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2019. The Bill has passed the House of Representatives and is now before the Senate.
While framed as a simple adjustment to the Migration Act 1958 (the Act), the Bill would in fact significantly expand the character-based powers of visa cancellation and refusal, making them dangerously and unworkably broad. If passed into law, the Bill would increase the number of people in immigration detention and facing removal from the country.
Both Labor and the Greens recommended the Bill be rejected, after a Senate Inquiry was warned of its dangers. The passage of the Bill now depends on the vote of unaligned Senators.
The Bill is bad law and should not be passed. It is deliberately unclear, concentrates power in the hands of the Minister and his delegates, and will harm families and communities.
Contact your Senator.