Voters reject fear – and vote for fairness for refugees

Voters have rejected a politics of fear and division this election. The 48th Parliament will be one of the most progressive Parliaments elected and there is an opportunity to reset how people seeking asylum are treated with a focus on fairness, safety and freedom.

Attempts by the Coalition and right wing groups to fearmonger and demonise refugees and people seeking asylum have fallen flat this election. Voters have given the incoming Labor Government a clear mandate for compassion. Now is the time for the ALP to deliver on their platform commitments and provide life-changing outcomes for refugees and people seeking asylum.

The fight for the humane treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum is not over. Pathways to permanency for the 8,500 people failed by the flawed Fast Track process need to be prioritised and implemented within the first 12 months of the new Parliament. While the Albanese Government has abolished Fast Track, they have failed to provide swift and clear solutions to people seeking asylum who were failed by the flawed process and have been living in limbo for over a decade.

Refugees in PNG and Nauru need to be urgently evacuated to Australia and their resettlement prioritised. The health crisis happening in offshore detention centres is worsening, with refugees not receiving adequate medical care and suffering severe human rights abuses.

Punitive amendments made to the Migration Act in 2024, following pressure from Peter Dutton, also need to be repealed. These laws allow the Minister for Home Affairs to deport people, overturn their protection finding, and ban people from certain countries from entering Australia.

People seeking asylum need the right to work and study, and a means-tested income safety net throughout the refugee determination process. There are currently tens of thousands of people seeking asylum living in Australia without the right to work, who have been forced into poverty while they wait for up to a decade for their visa outcome. The government needs to increase the meagre Status Resolution Support Service (SRSS) allowance payments, which are currently below the poverty line.

Jana Favero, Deputy CEO at ASRC, said:

“Voters have acted with compassion and it’s time for our elected representatives and political leaders to reflect this in the incoming Parliament. The ASRC looks forward to working with the 48th Parliament to ensure that people seeking asylum and refugees are treated fairly, and that we finally put a stop to policies based on cruelty and punishment.“

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