edited
18th Sep 2020
Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Cessation) Bill 2020 - in Committee - PJCIS oversight
Not passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 51% attendance
3rd Sep 2020, 4:22 PM – Senate Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Cessation) Bill 2020 - Second Reading - Agree with the bill's main idea
Summary
EditThe majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the bill's main idea. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read it for a second time. This means they can now discuss the bill in more detail.
What is the bill's main idea?
According to the bills digest, the bill:
will amend the scheme for national security-related citizenship cessation in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (the Citizenship Act) to:
- replace ‘operation of law’ provisions in which Australian citizenship is automatically renounced on the basis of certain conduct, with a ministerial-decision model for citizenship cessation
- reduce the sentence threshold for cessation based on conviction for certain offences, from a sentence of at least six or ten years imprisonment (depending on when the sentence was imposed), to a sentence of at least three years imprisonment
- change the ‘statelessness test’ by removing the precondition that the person is a citizen of another country and substituting a prohibition on the Minister making a determination where the Minister is satisfied that a person will be made stateless by the determination
- amend the procedures for the giving of notice of a citizenship cessation and
- introduce procedures by which a person whose citizenship ceases may apply to the Minister for revocation.
The amendments will apply retrospectively.
Why is the bill controversial?
The bills digest sets out some of the main issues in the bill:
- reducing the sentence threshold for conviction-based citizenship cessation is not proportionate and lacks justification
- amending the statelessness test will increase the risk of statelessness and narrow the scope for judicial review
- there has been insufficient justification provided for the Bill’s retrospective application
- although the [Independent National Security Legislation Monitor]’s proposed model included a limited form of merits review, the Bill does not make provision for this and
- proposed procedural safeguards, including automatic revocation of the cessation determination where a court makes certain factual findings, may not be functional and thus may not provide practical protection against arbitrary citizenship loss and statelessness.
Votes Passed by a large majority
Nobody rebelled against their party.
| Party | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Greens (50% turnout) | 0 Yes – 4 No | |
| Mehreen Faruqi NSW | No | |
| Sarah Hanson-Young SA | No | |
| Nick McKim Tasmania | No | |
| Rachel Siewert WA | No | |
| Janet Rice Victoria | Absent | |
| Jordon Steele-John WA | Absent | |
| Larissa Waters Queensland | Absent | |
| Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania | Absent | |
| Australian Labor Party (24% turnout) | 6 Yes – 0 No | |
| Tim Ayres NSW | Yes | |
| Kristina Keneally NSW | Yes | |
| Helen Polley Tasmania | Yes | |
| Louise Pratt WA | Yes | |
| Tony Sheldon NSW | Yes | |
| Penny Wong SA | Yes | |
| Catryna Bilyk Tasmania | Absent | |
| Carol Brown Tasmania | Absent | |
| Kim Carr Victoria | Absent | |
| Anthony Chisholm Queensland | Absent | |
| Raff Ciccone Victoria | Absent | |
| Patrick Dodson WA | Absent | |
| Don Farrell SA | Absent | |
| Alex Gallacher SA | Absent | |
| Katy Gallagher ACT | Absent | |
| Nita Green Queensland | Absent | |
| Kimberley Kitching Victoria | Absent | |
| Jenny McAllister NSW | Absent | |
| Malarndirri McCarthy NT | Absent | |
| Deborah O'Neill NSW | Absent | |
| Marielle Smith SA | Absent | |
| Glenn Sterle WA | Absent | |
| Anne Urquhart Tasmania | Absent | |
| Jess Walsh Victoria | Absent | |
| Murray Watt Queensland | Absent | |
| Stirling Griff SA Centre Alliance | Yes | |
| Rex Patrick SA Centre Alliance | Yes | |
| Sam McMahon NT Country Liberal Party | Yes | |
| Sue Lines WA Deputy President | Absent | |
| Rex Patrick SA Independent | Absent | |
| Jacqui Lambie Tasmania Jacqui Lambie Network | Absent | |
| Liberal National Party (100% turnout) | 2 Yes – 0 No | |
| Matthew Canavan Queensland | Yes | |
| James McGrath Queensland | Yes | |
| Liberal Party (76% turnout) | 22 Yes – 0 No | |
| Alex Antic SA | Yes | |
| Wendy Askew Tasmania | Yes | |
| Andrew Bragg NSW | Yes | |
| Slade Brockman WA | Yes | |
| Michaelia Cash WA | Yes | |
| Claire Chandler Tasmania | Yes | |
| Richard Colbeck Tasmania | Yes | |
| Mathias Cormann WA | Yes | |
| David Fawcett SA | Yes | |
| Sarah Henderson Victoria | Yes | |
| Hollie Hughes NSW | Yes | |
| Jane Hume Victoria | Yes | |
| Andrew McLachlan SA | Yes | |
| Jim Molan NSW | Yes | |
| Matt O'Sullivan WA | Yes | |
| James Paterson Victoria | Yes | |
| Gerard Rennick Queensland | Yes | |
| Linda Reynolds WA | Yes | |
| Anne Ruston SA | Yes | |
| Paul Scarr Queensland | Yes | |
| Amanda Stoker Queensland | Yes | |
| David Van Victoria | Yes | |
| Eric Abetz Tasmania | Absent | |
| Simon Birmingham SA | Absent | |
| Jonathon Duniam Tasmania | Absent | |
| Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW | Absent | |
| Marise Payne NSW | Absent | |
| Zed Seselja ACT | Absent | |
| Dean Smith WA | Absent | |
| National Party (67% turnout) | 2 Yes – 0 No | |
| Perin Davey NSW | Yes | |
| Bridget McKenzie Victoria | Yes | |
| Susan McDonald Queensland | Absent | |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (0% turnout) | Absent | |
| Pauline Hanson Queensland | Absent | |
| Malcolm Roberts Queensland | Absent | |
| Scott Ryan Victoria President | Absent | |
| Totals (52% turnout) | 35 Yes – 4 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.