Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton doesn't want criminals becoming Australian citizens, suggesting a plan to automatically cancel the visas of those convicted of serious criminal offences.
Speaking on 3AW radio, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said people shouldn't be rewarded for doing the wrong thing.
"Ninety-nine per cent of people who come to our country do the right thing - abide by the laws,” he said.
“If they don't and they commit an offence against an Australian citizen then they should expect to be booted out of our country.”
He said Australians should abide by the law even when they don’t agree with them – however he’s flagged looking at ways to “improve” them when it comes to citizenship.
The visa crackdown, proposed recently by a Liberal-led parliamentary committee, would give the government the power to deport violent foreign born criminals as young as age 16.
In January 2017, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton commented that migrants who commit violent crimes should be "shipped back to their own country".
An unknown number of adults and youths have been referred by Victorian authorities to the federal government, resulting in several visa cancellations and deportation orders.
The Greens mounted a strong opposition to the Turnbull government's proposed changes to the nation's citizenship laws, which were ultimately rejected by the Senate in October.
These included requiring applicants to live in Australia for four years on permanent residency visas before applying for citizenship, and potentially barring people with a history of family violence or involvement in crime from applying at all.
They also extended Peter Dutton's powers.
