Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Dear Minister Dutton,
I was deeply dismayed, but not very surprised, to learn that your Department has recently rescinded the Community Detention status of several hundred refugees and asylum seekers, and placed them on six-month Departure Visas. In the midst of a pandemic, you are throwing these people onto the streets, ending their support, and telling them to find a job.
Do you realistically expect these vulnerable people to suddenly fend for themselves, after years of mistreatment at the hands of the Australian government? Do you seriously expect that a sick refugee, with limited English skills, and on a short-term visa, is likely to be offered a job in the present climate?
You, of course, know the answer to these questions, but you seem untroubled.
You know that, having fled their home countries in search of a safe haven, which is their right under international law, they cannot “go back to where they came from.” You also know that their prospects of settling in Nauru or PNG are next to zero. But you are indifferent to their plight.
These
actions by your government cast a dark shadow over all of us. This is
not the way that a compassionate or fair-minded country treats the most
vulnerable in the community. We have obligations to these people, and it
is your responsibility, on behalf of all of us, to ensure that these
obligations are met.
It is not too late to show some humanity and to create a new community protection visa with full work and study rights, and access to Medicare, JobSeeker and continuing housing and income support, until such time as these people are able to securely support themselves.
It is surely time to expedite the long-standing offer of the New Zealand government to resettle 150 refugees annually.
Yours sincerely,
Mike G....
Valla
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