David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

An hour ago I had the privilege of meeting a courageous group of women who have just finished an epic 640-kilometre journey on foot from Melbourne. They have come to this place, Parliament House, the people's house, to ask us for safety, security and certainty to rebuild their lives. Here, with them, are their daughters and granddaughters, many of them born here in Australia. After 10 years of living in our communities, working, learning and growing together with all of us, their home is here.

I was honoured to stand beside a fellow Canberran, Piume, as she told of her agonising wait to become a permanent member of our Canberra community. I was astounded by her courage in telling her story. She went to Narrabundah High, not far from here, and she is studying nursing at the University of Canberra but is still on a bridging visa. Thanks to people in the community and some really powerful advocates, they've managed to get her international student visa down to a resident one, and the fees are being paid for by people in the community. She's determined to become a nurse to contribute to this country that she now calls home but doesn't recognise her as an Australian. She has no permanency and, like so many young people who have grown up here, feels like she's not being appreciated despite wanting to contribute, desperately wanting to be part of Australia and contribute.

I want to just read out a couple of statements from a few of the women who made the 640-kilometres walk. 'I'm Harini. I am a 21-year-old refugee who came here almost 10 years ago. I was separated from my mum and my siblings, and it's been 11 years since I saw them. I came here with my dad, and I know neither home anymore. I feel like a foreigner every time I think about moving to a different country, and I don't want to ever do that. I want to live in Australia and I want to build my life here. I was going to become a doctor and give back to the community, but I was denied access to university. There are so many students out there like me—they have no access to uni or ever achieving their academic dreams, just because we don't have permanent visas. There was this pause in our lives and academic dreams or anything we want to become. We are part of this community. We want to give back to the community. I have friends and neighbours who want me to stay here, but the government needs to look at us and give something that we need, which is permanent residency.'

This is from Rathy: 'There are 10,000 refugees in limbo. This is not one or two years—this is 10 years. That's why we thought this is something we have to do. That's why we got together for 22 women to walk from Melbourne to Canberra. I'm asking the people who are in Australia, please listen to our voices because we're walking with strength and hope.'

This is another statement: 'My name is Fahime. I'm from Iran. I came to Australia in 2013 with my family. I do not have safety in my country. All around, the world understands about Iranian women. It is not free. It is not safe in our country. We are a family of four, and three of us are working and paying tax. My son was unable to attend university, and my daughter is now in the last year of high school. One month ago, my daughter was talking to a career assistant from school. They told her that she's unable to go to university because of her visa conditions. She came to me asking: "When will we get visas? I'm asking you because all my dreams of my future have been destroyed. We don't have a visa. I can't go to university. I can't reach my dreams. So I am going to give up and not go to school from tomorrow." I gave her hope that I will find a way to keep her dreams alive and send her to university. That is why I'm here today.'