Labor is toughening immigration laws to stop people from some countries travelling to Australia on some temporary visas and seeking to stay permanently because of the Middle East war.
The assistant citizenship minister, Julian Hill, introduced urgent amendments on Tuesday, hours after home affairs minister, Tony Burke, facilitated asylum applications from members of the Iranian women’s football team.
Under the proposal, Burke could issue an “arrival control determination” to prevent temporary visa holders from certain regions visiting Australia where global circumstances change in order to “protect the integrity and sustainability of Australia’s immigration system”.
The law, if passed, could be used to prevent Iranian tourists from travelling to Australia if their visa was issued before the US and Israel attacked Tehran, and where there is a concern they might overstay their visa or apply for protection while in Australia.
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The bill itself does not specifically name a country, but a briefing document circulated to MPs and senators, and seen by Guardian Australia, references the situation in the Middle East.
“The current situation in the Middle East demonstrates how quickly the circumstances can change for visa applicants and for those non-citizens who already hold a temporary visa but have not yet travelled to Australia, and for whom a visa application now, would likely be unsuccessful,” the briefing note said.
In a snap hearing on Tuesday evening, the home affairs department admitted it had only began drafting the proposed changes on Friday.
The department’s immigration head, Clare Sharp, revealed there were about 7,200 Iranians with temporary visas for Australia. Across the region, the figure surpasses 40,000 with more than 11,000 temporary visa holders in Israel.
“We have more … people holding Australian temporary visas now than we’ve ever had before. That’s a feature of just a global economy and a lot of movement of people,” she said.
Labor has described the changes as closing loopholes in current immigration laws and says guard rails will be included in the new rules.
The home affairs minister would have new powers to make an “arrival control determination” only after written agreement from the prime minister and the foreign affairs minister.
On Tuesday, Hill said: “At any point in time, there are many temporary visa holders outside Australia holding a temporary right of entry to Australia, granted to support travel for a genuinely temporary purpose, like a holiday or attending a conference.”
“The current situation in the Middle East demonstrates how quickly circumstances can change that may impact whether those temporary visa holders could fulfil that temporary purpose in Australia, including whether they would leave Australia? Should they travel here?
“In these circumstances, it is vital that government can respond appropriately, including by placing temporary limitations on the ability of certain cohorts and noncitizens from travelling to Australia without legislative change.”
The shadow foreign minister, Ted O’Brien, told parliament the Coalition supported the bill in principle.
Ahead of a Senate inquiry on Tuesday night, O’Brien said he did not see “any major hurdles” to passing the new law.
At a later press conference before question time, the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, praised the football players as women of “great courage” for standing up to the regime but said they were not being inconsistent by supporting the government’s decision to prevent other Iranians with temporary visas from entering the country.
“The Iranian soccer players are already here and we said it’s important they go through the process and be compliant,” he said.
The independent member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, said he wanted his objection to the bill registered in Hansard.
Independent MP Zali Steggall said there were insufficient safeguards in the bill.
“It completely undermines our visa system and it is racist,” she said.
“It is clearly targeted at one group but could be abused by any subsequent government to target any other group.”
The Greens senator David Shoebridge said the “underlying obscenity” in this issue was that Labor, the Coalition and One Nation supported the US’s conflict against Iran but did not want responsibility for its refugees.
“The three war parties regularly support conflict and war in Iraq, in Afghanistan and now in Iran, they cheer on the bombing, they cheer on the killing. They send Australian troops into it, and then when refugees come, as a result of it, they shut the door and act with deep cruelty,” he said.
Burke had earlier confirmed on Tuesday that five asylum applications from members of the Iranian women’s football team.
Burke said the visas had been granted at about 1.30am on Tuesday morning, around the time of Trump’s social media posts, which first criticised, then praised, Australia.
“They are welcome to stay in Australia,” Burke told an early morning press conference in Brisbane. “They are safe here, and they should feel at home here.
“I say to the other members of the team: the same opportunity is there. Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts.”
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s chief executive, Kon Karapanagiotidis, described the bill as “truly appalling”.
“The Albanese government’s actions today send a disturbing message about who is worthy of protection and who is not,” he said.
The Refugee Council’s co-chief executive, Paul Power, said the legislation was “another step towards ending access to asylum in Australia”.
“Instead of building on today’s positive actions, the Albanese government appears set on subverting Australian values and international law.”
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