Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Next Tuesday, 15 August, will mark two years since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. For two years now people have been fleeing for their lives in the face of a humanitarian crisis unfolding in that country. The Taliban continues to erase the rights of women, removing them from all aspects of life. The Afghani women's soccer team fled from Afghanistan to Australia in 2021. They cannot go home and are not allowed to represent their country in the World Cup happening right here, right now.

Earlier this week, I stood with the Australian Afghan community to call on the government to do more to support refugees and asylum seekers fleeing from humanitarian crises like these and seeking asylum in countries like ours. In Australia, for over a decade, people fleeing from humanitarian crisis like that in Afghanistan have faced cruel and brutal government policies. There are still over 12,000 asylum seekers in Australia whose lives are in limbo. They are unable to receive permanent protection visas as a result of the last government's dodgy and cruel fast-track process. All people seeking asylum in Australia should be allowed a fair and just process for permanent protection regardless of where they come from or how they got here. Some of these people have been here for 10, 11 or 12 years without any access to essential services like Medicare or guarantees of education for their children who were born here. They deserve certainty for their futures. They have made Australia their home, and they should be allowed to stay.

This new government has an opportunity to right the wrongs that have been done for well over the last decade. The Greens are calling on the government to give these people the opportunity to reapply for a fair and just outcome through a resolution of status visa. No-one should be punished for seeking asylum. (Time expired)