Leading refugee and human rights advocates arrive in Canberra this morning to urge the Albanese Government to scrap three Brutal Bills that threaten the lives, rights and safety of over 80,000 refugees, people seeking asylum and migrant communities in Australia, and countless others who would be barred from entering the country. 

At a 10.30 am press conference in Mural Hall with Independent MPs, the Human Rights Law Centre, ASRC, ACOSS, Refugee Council of Australia and Refugee Advice and Casework Service will condemn the Albanese Government for attempting to ram through Parliament three dangerous and harmful Migration Bills in just one day. Read more about Albanese’s Bills.

The three Brutal Bills scheduled for vote and debate in Parliament this week are:

• Migration Amendment Bill 2024
• Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2024 –  which passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday night
• Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024

The groups arriving in Canberra have joined over 20 leading and peak body legal, social services, refugee and human rights organisations who have signed on to a joint statement in today’s print edition of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. The statement calls out the Albanese Government for ‘reaching new levels of cruelty’ and ‘escalating attacks on multicultural communities, migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum’.

If the three Bills are rushed through this week, signatories of the joint statement are clear ‘consequences will devastate thousands of lives’ and set a ‘dangerous precedent for human rights in Australia’. If passed, the Brutal Bills will allow the Albanese Government to:

• Expand its offshore detention regime
• Deport people to danger where they risk persecution, violence or even death
• Ban entire communities from entering Australia 
• Separate families, including parents from Australian citizen children
• Imprison people for not complying with deportation, even when they face risk of serious harm or death if they return to their home countries
• Cut off lifelines from people in detention through confiscation of mobile phones
• Authorise dehumanising strip searches of people in detention
  

Quotes attributable to:

Jana Favero, Deputy CEO Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
“It is shocking and devastating to witness, yet again, people seeking asylum, refugees and migrants used as political footballs in Parliament. Not only are their human rights and freedoms under attack, but there are three punitive and harmful bills that have not had genuine scrutiny or consideration of the damage they will cause to so many.

“We are talking about people in our community who may be separated from family, sent to harm in a third country, or detained indefinitely. This is completely out of step with community sentiment, we are and should be better than this. We stand side by side with sector colleagues, human rights experts and impacted communities in urging the Albanese Government to abandon these harmful bills.”

Cassandra Goldie, CEO ACOSS
“ACOSS is deeply concerned about the punitive and harmful measures in these bills, which are being rushed through Parliament without proper consideration of the wide-ranging impact. They are draconian and far-reaching, and I urge the Government to withdraw them and engage with the civil society and legal experts to develop a humane, human rights based response.”

Paul Power, CEO Refugee Council of Australia
“These are some of the most harmful and extreme Bills we’ve seen in over a decade, and the speed with which they’re being pushed through makes it all the more shocking. This rushed and reckless approach is alarming, especially when the implications are so dire.”

Nos Hosseini, Iranian Women’s Association
“How can our government say, on one hand, that places like Iran and Afghanistan are unsafe for Australians to travel to, yet be seeking powers to deport people back to where they came from.

“Refugees and asylum seekers are already in a precarious situation, having escaped unimaginable horrors in their home countries. Sending them back would be akin to condemning them to death. These are not simply statistics or numbers – they are human beings, worthy of our compassion and protection.

“These people have already endured unimaginable trauma, and they are now seeking the safety and security that Australia can provide. Turning our backs on them at this critical juncture would be a betrayal of our core values as a nation, especially after so many of them have contributed to Australia in a positive way.”

Sarah Dale, Centre Director and Principal Solicitor Refugee Advice and Casework Service 
“I’m absolutely gutted that we are back to trying to keep people out of Australia and making blanket assumptions about entire communities of people.

“Many of the people whose lives are now at risk have been part of Australian society for over a decade. Nothing in these Bills ensures individual circumstances of family or health or any other ethical concerns will be taken into account. RACS is extremely concerned for the safety of those affected by Fast Track and Offshore Processing, especially. We’re extremely disappointed in the Albanese Government. This is a huge step backwards away from the progress that was being made.”

Sanmati Verma, Legal Director Human Rights Law Centre
“These are fundamentally anti-migrant laws. They will allow the government to impose Trump-style travel bans, warehouse unwanted migrants and refugees in third countries and jail people who do not assist with their own deportation – no matter how long they have been here, or even whether they have Australian family.

“These laws will affect tens of thousands of people – our friends, co-workers and family members. The fact that these laws are being rushed through together shows the utter contempt that Labor and the Coalition have for migrant and refugee communities. We have to stand up against them, and demand better for migrant and refugee communities.”

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