One Nation is calling on the Federal Government to immediately suspend new migration from countries subject to Australia’s highest “do not travel” warnings, arguing that the same security risks cited for Australian travellers should also inform migration decisions.
Senator Pauline Hanson said Australia could no longer ignore what she described as security risks associated with countries affected by terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, violent crime, civil unrest, state repression or the collapse of local authority.
“Australia’s terrorism threat level remains ‘probable’,” Senator Hanson said.
“If the government warns Australians not to go to a country because of extreme security and terrorism risks, the government should not continue accepting ordinary migration from that country on a business-as-usual basis.”
The Australian Government’s Smartraveller service uses a four-level system and assigns Level 4: Do not travel to destinations where health and safety risks are considered extreme, including because of armed conflict, terrorism, civil unrest or a breakdown of local authority.
The current Level 4 list spans 24 destinations: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Palestine, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen.
Hanson said the government should apply greater scrutiny to migration applications from these countries.
“Where the entire country is marked ‘do not travel’, the government should pause ordinary new migration,” she said.
“Where large parts are marked ‘do not travel’, every application should face far more rigorous security scrutiny.”
The One Nation proposal would apply to new offshore visas, including refugee and humanitarian visas.
Hanson said there should be “no refugee loophole”, arguing that applications from Level 4 destinations should only be considered where the government and relevant security agencies can establish the applicant’s identity and provide assurances that they do not pose a security risk.
“I’m not interested in importing the world’s problems at the expense of Australia’s security.”
She also criticised the government’s handling of Australians returning from conflict zones and questioned whether adequate security checks were being conducted on new arrivals.
“The government cannot issue its highest security warning for an entire country about terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary detention, armed conflict and collapsed authority, then pretend those same conditions are irrelevant to migration,” Hanson said.
One Nation said the Federal Government should either act on the warnings issued through its own Smartraveller system or explain why those warnings should apply to Australian travellers but not inform migration security decisions.
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