Australian Immigration Daily News

Law Council President, Arthur Moses SC, told the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor’s public review hearing yesterday the proposed amendments to the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) were not necessary or proportionate, may leave individuals stateless and inadvertently weaken national security.

“Promoting the safety and security of the Australian community and protecting Australian citizens from terrorismrelated activities must always be a paramount concern,” Mr Moses said.

“However, there is a real risk that despite best intentions, the proposed legislation could undermine, not protect, the national interest. For example, some foreign incursions offences under Part 5.5. of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) require that in order for a person to be charged, the person must have been an Australian citizen at the time of the alleged offence. Taking citizenship away may remove Australia’s ability to subsequently prosecute these individuals for serious offences. This is not in the national interest.

Source: LCA-Citizenship-Stripping-Laws-28-June-2019.pdf