Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question and I recognise her experience in international human rights law. I appreciate the input that she has provided for the benefit of the Committee. The temporary protection visa was introduced in October 1999 by the previous government. Abolishing the previous government’s unjust and punitive temporary protection visa system for asylum seekers fulfils one of the Rudd Labor government’s election commitments.

The temporary protection visa was one of the worst aspects of the Howard government’s punitive treatment of refugees, many of whom had already suffered enormously before fleeing their country of birth to seek safe asylum in Australia. Under the previous government’s regime, refugees faced further uncertainty and punitive visa conditions after arriving in Australia. The scrapping of the TPV fulfils the Rudd government’s commitment to providing refugees with a fair and certain outcome. People found to be refugees will in future receive a permanent visa regardless of how they arrive in Australia.

In addition, about 1,000 refugees currently in Australia on TPVs will have their status resolved and will be afforded the same benefits and entitlements as holders of a permanent protection visa. They will not need to have their protection claims re-assessed, and—provided they meet health, security and character requirements—they will be granted permanent residence in Australia. This will be achieved through a resolution of status visa. This permanent residence visa will allow TPV holders access to the same benefits and entitlements as permanent protection visa holders and will provide people with certainty about their future, enabling them to engage fully in the Australian community. Indeed, many in the Australian community—including in rural and regional Australia—were quite outraged at the situation of TPV holders, including the children of TPV holders, who were part and parcel of school, sporting and community fabrics, and had a precarious future ahead of them.

We need to resolve the status of current TPV holders as a priority. Regulation amendments to implement the decision will be made as a priority by the minister in the first quarter of the 2008-09 financial year. The abolition of temporary protection visas is consistent with the government’s broader commitment to treating people in need of protection with fairness and decency. Unlike the previous government’s policy, our policies on asylum seekers will be based on the principles of decency and fairness: on the evidence, not on divisive politics.

If we look at the evidence for all of the former government’s bluster on temporary protection visas, what they did not tell the Australian people was that almost all of the people granted temporary protection visas have since been granted permanent refugee visas. As at 7 March 2008, 11,126 people had been granted temporary protection. The overwhelming majority—some 9,680—have since been granted permanent visas. The temporary visa was not a deterrent to unlawful arrivals, as described by the previous government. While there was a temporary drop in the rate of boat arrivals after the TPV regime began in late 1990—3,042 boat arrivals intercepted between December 1998 and November 1999, compared with 2,921 boat arrivals in the following December 1999 to November 2000 period—the introduction of the TPV regime did not stop boat arrivals from increasing. From December 2000 until November 2001, 6,540 boats were intercepted. It was a harsh policy, it imposed harsh visa conditions with no appreciable national security benefit and it caused additional suffering to people who had already suffered in their countries of birth, and actually impeded their safe and complete integration into the Australian community. I am pleased to say that policy has been reversed by the Rudd government.

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