Public hearing to hear from experts on new citizenship repudiation laws

THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) will hear evidence next Monday from a range of expert witnesses for the review of the amendments made by the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Repudiation) Bill 2023.

The committee will hear from a range of witnesses, including the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Law Council of Australia and a roundtable of expert academics including Associate Professor Rayner Twaites, Professor George Williams, Professor Kim Rubenstein, the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, and Professor Emerita Helen Irving. The committee will also hear from key government agencies: the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Federal Police.

PJCIS Chair Peter Khalil MP, said, “The Citizenship Repudiation Act is an important pillar in Australia’s national security landscape that was swiftly put in place by Parliament following the decisions of the High Court. The Citizenship Repudiation Act repealed and replaced the relevant provisions to now provide that the Minister may make an application to a court to make a citizenship cessation order in certain circumstances, as part of sentencing on conviction of a person for certain serious offences.

“The committee has received a number of submissions regarding the operation, effectiveness and implications of the recently enacted legislation as well as the proposed Senate amendments.

"The public hearing will allow the committee to hear from expert witnesses regarding the implications of the legislation. The PJCIS will then test this evidence with Government officials from the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Federal Police.” Mr Khalil said.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Monday, 19 February 2024
10.30am – 3:45pm (AEDT)
Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

A program for the hearing can be found here and the hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

 

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