The new Labor government promised to grant permanent protection to 19,000 refugees on temporary visas (TPVs and SHEVs). But more than three months since the election, there is no indication of when this will happen.
Aften ten years in limbo, refugees are desperate to bring their family members to Australia, to access education, and to finally have a secure future. After years of their lives being on hold, this promise should be acted on immediately.
There are also thousands of other refugees who have been completely left behind, with no promise of permanent visas at all. There are 9703 refugees rejected under the Coalition’s ‘fast track’ processing fiasco. Labor is refusing a review of their cases.
Furthermore, there are still 200 refugees stranded on Nauru and PNG. Another 1200 refugees formerly held in these offshore detention centres who are now in Australia (Medevac refugees and families from Nauru) are also being refused permanent visas. Some may get resettlement in the US, Canada or under the NZ deal, but they face waiting as long as 3 more years. And 505 of them will miss out altogether as there are not enough places.
Labor has made no commitment to resettle any of the 14,000 refugees who are stranded in Indonesia owing to Australia’s hardline anti-refugee turnback policies.
Many of the refugees stranded on Nauru, PNG and Indonesia come from Afghanistan and fled the brutal Taliban. Australia’s 20-year-long involvement in the war in Afghanistan affords special consideration to these refugees. The human rights atrocities carried out by the Taliban continue today, but the appeal from NGOs for an extra 20,000 special intake from Afghanistan has been ignored.
Labor, too, is continuing to turn back refugee boats and is maintaining offshore detention.
Join us to demand justice and permanent visas for all refugees.
Speakers include:
* Waise Ahmad – Refugee and Human Rights activist from Afghanistan
* Amir Douraghinezhad – Iranian refugee
* SaiVashini Jayakumar – Tamil refugee
* Setara Sharifi – Refugee from Afghanistan
