14/02/2018
Peter Khalil, Federal Member for Wills, has slammed the rapid increase in unchecked power that has been handed to the Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton, under the Turnbull Government.
In a speech to parliament on the Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill, Mr Khalil raised concerns with the consolidation of unchecked power within Mr Dutton’s responsibilities and slammed Mr Dutton for neglecting the his core immigration responsibilities.
“The bill in its current form gives Minister Dutton way too much power,” said Mr Khalil.
“If we are to genuinely hold fast to the fundamental and most basic principles of democracy and the rule of law, we cannot abide one minister having such broad personal power, the power to make such important decisions affecting people’s most basic of rights, devoid of any transparency and accountability.”
“We need the government to fully explain and justify why Minister Dutton needs such unfettered and ill-defined powers. The incompetence, the failures and the lack of transparency are part of a broader and alarming pattern”
“The fear-mongering and the securitisation of immigration policy disregard that this is fundamentally a social and economic area of policy about the management and facilitation of new migrants coming to our country and contributing economically, socially and culturally.”
A full transcript of Mr Khalil’s remarks to the House of Representatives are available here.
ENDS