Wednesday, 16 October 2024

Refugees and asylum seekers

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (10:00): Last month I met with members of the Hazara community in Geelong. Over three years ago the Taliban resumed power over Afghanistan, and it is hard to put into words what the people of Afghanistan have faced since that time: heavy restrictions on girls’ education, women’s participation and political and media freedoms; significant poverty and unemployment; and then there is the shattering impact of many years of conflict and attempts at peacebuilding. For the Hazara community, a people who have faced many years of targeted persecution that many observers consider genocide, the reality of the past few years has been all the more terrible.

In Geelong family members are facing their own trauma. Added to the experiences that led them to seek refuge in Australia, they live in ongoing uncertainty about reunification with their loved ones and endure the perpetual cruelty of the limbo that is Australia’s temporary protection visa system. It is a type of psychological torture that you would not wish on anyone, and this system has been deliberately designed and operated by Labor and Liberal governments. The Greens once again call for an overhaul of the humanitarian visa system, including waiting times for protection and family reunification visas and the processing of temporary protection visas to enable permanency, stability and the right to a life free from fear of persecution.