Greens, Andrew Wilkie condemn visa freeze bill
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More news: Greens leader Larissa Waters criticised the temporary visa freeze bill, saying it was aimed at preventing Iranian refugees from seeking asylum in Australia.
“What a new low for the government,” Waters said. “You cannot get more morally bankrupt.”
Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie also rejected the bill, which emerged without warning on Tuesday after winning the support of the Labor caucus.
Wilkie told Capital Brief he was the only MP to oppose the bill in the House of Representatives.
“It’s a discriminatory policy that lets the government decide which imperilled people are worth saving,” Wilkie said. “The legislation strikes me as a kneejerk reaction to the situation in Iran, which will have the effect of overturning longstanding immigration practice and law.”
It also came as the government granted visas to five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team, who feared they would be persecuted by the Iranian regime if they returned home.
Waters welcomed the protection granted to the players, but accused the government of hypocrisy for issuing those visas while at the same time closing the door on other refugees.
Government pushes new bill to freeze temporary visas
The news: The federal government intends give itself the power to put a freeze on already-issued temporary visas to prevent a flood of people from nations like Iran arriving in Australia and then claiming asylum.
The context: Legislation tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday allows the Minister for Home Affairs to prevent people approved for temporary visas like tourist or business visas from entering Australia for up to six months.
The decision would be based on sudden changes in global affairs.
What they said: Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill said the bill would give the government the chance to suspend visas, allowing time to “assess evolving situations and consider the national interest”.
Although Hill made no reference to Iran or the current Middle East war, sources told Capital Brief the timing of the legislation reflected a clear recognition that global instability could lead to large numbers of displaced people seeking asylum, and that governments needed mechanisms to protect the migration system.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien offered in-principle Coalition support for the bill.
Noting there would be a Senate inquiry into the proposal, O’Brien said: “We do not see any major hurdles in this. Today we will be supporting the passage of this Bill through the House.”
Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie rejected the bill, which emerged without warning and was backed by the Labor caucus on Tuesday morning.
The source: House of Representatives
