2020-05-29
Refugees and people seeking asylum have been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis – and a great deal of it is due to deliberate government neglect. But, as ever, the Greens are fighting for everyone the government has abandoned.
By Nick McKim
The COVID-19 lockdown has been difficult for so many people, and particularly hard for thousands of people who have sought asylum in Australia, and temporary visa holders who have been stranded overseas despite having a right to be here.
It has reflected the government’s indifference and hostility to refugees and migrants, and shows how much work there is to be done to repair Australia’s migration system.
Some people have been trapped without incomes. Some have been separated from their families for months on end. Lives have been completely turned upside down.
Unfortunately, a great deal of this suffering has been because of deliberate government neglect.
Refugees and people seeking asylum have been among the hardest hit. In many cases they have been without financial support for years, and people who were imprisoned in brutal conditions in PNG and Nauru for over six years still remain locked up in hotels in Brisbane and Melbourne, cut off from any support.
Detention centres remain especially susceptible to disease outbreaks, yet despite this the Liberals are refusing to release low risk detainees.
Contrast this with Portugal, where people seeking asylum, refugees and migrant workers have been granted temporary citizenship.
Even in Boris Johnson’s UK, people in immigration detention have been allowed to self-isolate in the community.
But here in Australia, the government has doubled down on their punitive and unnecessary immigration detention regime, creating even more stress and trauma for people who have already suffered far too much.
It’s been heartening to see so many decent Australians bravely conducting “exercise protests” outside the Melbourne and Brisbane hotels where refugees are detained. It is shameful that this has led to charges and fines in some cases.
The Australian Government has also excluded refugees and temporary visa holders from its JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs, leaving many to fend for themselves or rely on charity.
Shamefully, Labor also appears to be using the pandemic to push a One Nation-style anti-immigration policy, which was warmly welcomed in the Senate by Pauline Hanson herself.
My office has been inundated with requests for support from temporary visa holders and their loved ones who have been separated because of travel bans.
In many cases, these people have homes in Australia, they have jobs in Australia and they pay taxes in Australia.
Some are separated from their families who are currently in Australia, while the visa holders are stranded overseas, or vice versa.
The government does have a process in place for exemptions from the travel bans to be granted.
But there are no criteria against which applications for exemptions are assessed—and many people simply do not understand why they have been banned from returning.
At the very minimum, people who hold valid visas and have families, jobs and homes in this country should be allowed back in, with appropriate quarantine measures if necessary.
The Greens will continue fighting, during this pandemic and through the recovery, for decent support for everyone the government has abandoned, including people who have sought asylum here or have the right to work, live and study here.
Senator Nick McKim is the Australian Greens spokesperson for Immigration and Citizenship.
Hero image: Farhad Bandesh