Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

This morning I hosted an event with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, where I received a petition signed by 10,741 people calling on the Albanese government to provide all refugees and people seeking asylum with the right to work, study and access Medicare. As a foreign correspondent, I've witnessed not only conflict and the hardship of life in refugee camps but also the torture that is the inability to work, study and access health care. This is something that happens in places that are not signatories to the refugee convention. We are, and we must pay heed to what that means. During our labour shortage, there are thousands of refugees in Australia being denied the ability to become a part of the community. That doesn't make economic sense. I call on the government to resolve this and to act to tap this refugee resource. I seek leave to table this petition.

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