Foreign-born criminals could be banned from re-entering Australia for 20 years under the proposed laws after their visas are cancelled, a doubling of the current penalties.
The Liberal leader has vowed to close a loophole that has allowed foreign-born criminals convicted of violent crimes and the ringleaders of riots in Australia’s detention centres to remain in the country for years while legal appeals are heard.
“Australians have always welcomed people who want to contribute to our country and abide by our laws but they also have a right to be protected from those who don’t,” he told the Sunday Telegraph.
“To maintain people’s faith in the integrity of our immigration system, it’s our duty to ensure that those who commit serious crimes are swiftly deported and sent home.
“If any visitor to our country flouts our laws or puts the safety of Australians and communities at risk, then they have forfeited their right to our hospitality.”
Mr Abbott’s proposal follows the case of asylum seekers involved in the sabotage of Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel 36 in 2009, causing five deaths, receiving permanent visas.
In 2011 detainees who rioted at Villawood and Christmas Island causing almost $20 million of damage also received permanent protection visas.
Another non-citizen convicted of the manslaughter of a police officer successfully appealed a decision to cancel his visa, an outcome only overturned after special ministerial intervention.
While Mr Abbott did not expressly target asylum seekers, his opposition attorney general’s spokesman George Brandis said Labor’s border protection failures were clogging the court system.