New laws that would see dual nationals involved in terrorist activities forfeit their citizenship have been introduced to the federal Parliament.
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The bill, introduced by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton on Wednesday morning, amends an original plan by the government to allow the minister to strip dual nationals of their citizenship - without trial or conviction - after advice found such a move would be unconstitutional.
Instead, it updates a section of the Citizenship Act so that dual nationals who fight with a terrorist organisation overseas and are found guilty in a court of a terrorist offence or engaging in terrorist activity automatically revoke their Australian citizenship.
Mr Dutton told the Parliament that citizenship was "something to be treasured".
"We face a heightened and complex security environment," he said.
Mr Dutton said that "regrettably some of the most pressing threats to the security of the nation" came from citizens involved in terrorism.
"It is now appropriate to modernise provisions concerning loss of citizenship to respond to current terrorist threats. The word has changed so our laws should change accordingly," he said.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott dismissed suggestions the laws were a backdown from a previous proposal to grant powers to the immigration minister of the day to strip dual nationals of their Australian citizenship.
He said his only goal had been to "terrorists from being loose on our streets".
The bill will be immediately referred to the joint standing committee on intelligence and security, which will examine whether the laws can also be applied retrospectively.
Mr Dutton told the Parliament it was "entirely appropriate" that a dual national involved with terrorism would automatically forfeit their citizenship "because such a person has shown that they are not capable of upholding their commitment to our country".
"It formally removes a person from the Australian community when they themselves have breached their allegiance to Australia," Mr Dutton said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will be briefed on the bill later on Wednesday.
He told a media conference Labor supported the principle of "denying Australian citizenship to dual citizens if they take up arms against Australia".
But he said the opposition was "frustrated" the government had spent "18 months talking about these laws" and only a few weeks ago had said the minister would have the power to strip citizenship without judicial or legal oversight.
"I just wish the government wouldn't play politics with these national security laws," Mr Shorten said.
"At last let's have a look at them. Because what matters in national security is having laws that work."
