Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

CHANDLER-MATHER () (): There are over 10,000 people across Australia who legitimately sought asylum, fleeing war and persecution, who have now lived in Australia for 10 years but have been left in limbo by a cruel and arbitrary decision of this Labor government. The Labor government rightly announced that roughly 19,000 people who held temporary protection and safe haven visas would be eligible to apply for permanent protection. The Greens were overjoyed at this decision. But Labor, for some arbitrary reason, has continued to let the 10,000 people who are on bridging visas because of the previous government's cruel fast-track program be stuck in limbo.

I've met with countless people in my electorate who have shared their stories of grief and pain, desperate for this government to see them as humans and offer them the permanent protection they deserve and a pathway to permanent visas and citizenship. There's a man in my electorate, Abdul, who works at one of my favourite local restaurants. He is desperate to have the right to travel and see his sick father, but, because of the cruel conditions that many people on bridging visas face, he cannot go and see him. He is terrified that he'll never get to say goodbye to his dad. Because of the decisions of this government, he doesn't have that right. I've heard stories from countless women who are single mothers who have fled with their children in search of safety but have been stuck, basically, on these bridging visas without any chance for permanent protection. There are men in my electorate who have been imprisoned at a Kangaroo Point hotel for years and are finally being released and placed on bridging visas, but they are being left unable to start a new and secure life.

Let's be clear: the Labor government are making an active choice. They are making the choice to uphold and maintain the inhumane policies that prevent families from being reunited, that prevent children from accessing basic health care and education and that cause immense grief and pain to the individuals and communities stuck in this limbo for no reason, without access to Medicare or any social security. These people are our neighbours and our friends, and they have been here for 10 years, contributing to our community.

I speak to all 10,000 people stuck in this cruel limbo today: the Greens are with you. While the Australian government are often quick to support and fund foreign conflicts, they are not supporting the victims who flee these same conflicts. You deserve safety, and you deserve kindness. To the 22 refugee women who have just walked from Melbourne to Canberra, I thank you for bringing the violence of this decision by the Labor government to everyone's attention.

See this speech in context