Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over recent weeks there has been a lot of talk about values. I would welcome a discussion about values, but not the superficial ones we have been having. I would like to examine how Australian values are reflected in government policy, because in too many cases they are not. Most Australians would feel extremely uncomfortable at the thought of a female refugee experiencing a miscarriage being turned away from hospital simply because she did not have a Medicare card and could not afford to pay for treatment. Most Australians would feel extremely uncomfortable about a little boy from the Middle East who had to walk for two hours to and from school each day because his refugee parents could not afford public transport fees. Most Australians would feel extremely uncomfortable about the fact that a refugee from the Horn of Africa was diagnosed with malnutrition after living for several months in Australia—a First World nation—because she was not allowed to earn an honest living here, she was not eligible for welfare and she could not afford food.

I do not think cruelty is an Australian value. But the Howard government’s immigration policy is intrinsically cruel. And these cases are not isolated. It is estimated that thousands of community based asylum seekers in Australia are in this position. The 45-day policy rule introduced by the Howard government in 1997 precludes an asylum seeker who lodges an application after 45 days of arriving in Australia from certain entitlements, including work rights and Medicare, as well as access to Centrelink benefits. At the conclusion of this statement I will present to the House a petition of 1,774 signatures calling on the Howard government to abolish the 45-day rule and give all community based asylum seekers in Australia work rights and Medicare access. I think that is an Australian value.

Over recent weeks coalition politicians have dealt us an entire deck of race cards. I think everyone is sick and tired of that game. People who come to this country seeking asylum should not be used as political pawns. I urge the Howard government to re-evaluate its immigration policy and grant work rights and Medicare access to refugees. These people are asking for the ability to work while they are in the community, and their request has been denied. The government would do well to remember Australia’s responsibilities as a signatory to the refugee convention and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, because at present, by denying asylum seekers these rights, we are in breach of convention. If it were not for the generosity of certain charities within our community, these people would be left to starve in Australia because they are not allowed to work and they are not allowed to access any form of benefit.

I want to put on the record yet again my sincere appreciation to the Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, which supports 400 asylum seekers within Melbourne and provides them with accommodation and a basic living allowance of $30 per week. Out of the goodness of Australia’s heart these benefits are provided to community based asylum seekers. Economic responsibility and compassion are not mutually exclusive.