25th Nov 2011 – Senate Deterring People Smuggling Bill 2011 - Second Reading - Read a second time

The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a second time.(Read the debate leading up to this division here. )

This means that the majority of senators agree with the main idea of the bill, which is to clarify that a non-citizen without any lawful right to enter Australia under domestic law has no lawful right to come to Australia. The bill applies this clarification retrospectively to 16 December 1999.(The retrospective application of this bill raises issues relating to the rule of law. In Australia, there is a general prohibition on retrospective criminal laws. Read more about whether the retrospective application of this bill is against the rule of law on the Human Rights Law Centre and the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. )

The senators will now discuss the bill in more detail.

Background to the bill

The bill has already passed through the House of Representatives with bipartisan support and without formal division.(Read more about the bill's passage through the House of Representatives here. )

Its introduction into parliament coincided with the Payara case, which concerns an Indonesian man charged with aggravated people smuggling.(Read more about the case here. For more, see the SkepticLawyer. ) Paraya pleaded 'not guilty' and argued that asylum-seekers had a right under international and Australian law to come to Australia and seek asylum without a visa. This test case was originally to be heard in the Victorian Court of Appeal on 3 November 2011 but Paraya's solicitor said that it will have to be abandoned if the Senate agrees to pass the bill.(Read more about the response of lawyers to the bill here. )

Read more about the bill on its bills digest.(The bill's explanatory memoranda are available here.)

References