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Politics
Amy Maguire, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, University of Newcastle

Government's bid for an enhanced 'character test' is unnecessary - and unlikely to pass before the election anyway

The Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill will pass the House of Representatives by the end of this week. The bill would enhance the immigration minister’s powers to cancel the visas of people convicted of certain crimes.

This bill was debated and rejected twice previously, in 2019 and again in October 2021. This week, the government introduced it for a third time. Prime Minister Scott Morrison anticipated Labor would reject it again and accused the opposition of being “on the side of criminals”.

This time around, though, Labor has confirmed it will not oppose the bill in the House of Representatives.

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