Little love for Palestine in Australia

“When you shake the bottle, the same people keep coming to the surface,” said a comrade. “But when it comes to solidarity; well, that’s a two-way street.”

I have been making some inquiries about entry into Australia on a student visa. I do not know about other countries, but to come from Palestine is virtually impossible. Australian visas for students from Palestine are almost impossible to obtain because Palestine is not recognised by the Australian government, parents need to be wealthy, plus the student needs sponsorship from employers, educational institutions, church and state. Entry into Australia requires an absolute guarantee from an employer and family to take care of any health issues the student might face while here in Australia.

This is a far cry from the benefits and welcome received by the father of Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong under the Colombo Plan in the 1960s:

“Having grown up in poverty as the son of a widowed servant in the household of an English colonial family, Francis Wong’s future prospects were limited. But winning a Colombo Plan scholarship was a turning point, and he left the colonial context of his native British North Borneo to arrive in a rapidly modernising Australia of the 1960s.” – University of South Australia’s Lumen

Reasons that student entry into Australia from Palestine is nearly impossible
There are heavy restrictions placed on a student’s work rights. Plus the following requirements from the Australian government are prohibitive. Here are some of the requirements (and others) that are listed at the Department of Home Affairs and Trade (DFAT) website on its Document Checklist Tool:

1. A Palestinian passport … there is no authority in Palestine that can issue a valid passport to stateless students.
2. Parents must be willing to support the student and prove to government satisfaction that they have an annual income of at least AUD $60,000 for single students or at least AUD $70,000 for students that are accompanied by family members.
3. Sufficient funds to cover the student’s travel costs and 12 months of living and tuition fees.
4. Must provide evidence that evidence that the student’s stay in Australia is only temporary. This must be suported by documentation from an employer and/or an educational institution.
5. If the student does not have support from a migration agent they must get it from a close family member or member of parliament.

It is for this reason that The Big Ride for Palestine (Australia) in conjunction with a member of the Palestinian community, Khalil Hamdan, took up this petition:

End Restrictions on Palestinian travel (to Australia)! Please consider signing the petition.

Thanks
We thank all those people who took the time and trouble to sign and make comment on the petition. We wish to thank our local member (Max Chandler-Mather) and his staff for their support. Also we wish to thank the migration agent who gave us advice pro bono. We thank the Anglican Dean of Brisbane Peter Catt and Annette Brownlie from Just Peace for their support.

Ian Curr
The Big Ride for Palestine (Australia)
24 Jan 2023