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Parish Patience Solicitors, Immigration Law Section
www.parishpatience.com.au/immigration/

First temporary protection visas issued - refugees accused of "queue jumping"

The first of the government's new second rate protection visas have been issued to refugees who sought Australia's protection without going through "proper channels". Meanwhile, a select panel of two former immigration ministers and an ex-military officer has accused such asylum seekers of not living up to "popular images of refugees who flee civil disruption or war, on foot and with few belongings". Apparently nobody bothered to give this "high-level group of respected individuals" (as described in the official Media Release) a copy of the international definition of a refugee, which does not apply to people fleeing civil disruption or war. The image is even more incongruous for Australia, which has not been accessible by foot since the last Ice Age. Ironically, the "popular image" of a refugee in Australia is probably someone arriving in a leaky boat off our Northern coastline just as the latest arrivals have.

It is important to remember that in granting these visas the Australian government has had to recognise that each of these individuals is, in terms of the real meaning of the word refugee in international law, a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. There is no queue for such people. The money they use to pay for their passage to freedom is often the life savings of themselves and their relatives, or the proceeds of the sale of all of their possessions. The "respected individuals" do no credit to their own faded reputations by insulting them.

The temporary visas issued to the refugees do not permit them to bring family members to Australia or to travel out of Australia to visit family. They expire after three years at which time the refugees will again be put through the trauma and fear of having to convince the Australian government that they really are in danger if returned home.

Media release - http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media_releases/media99/r99182.htm

Hot links

With each edition of Australian Immigration Law Update we will try to find some new or interesting sites that you might enjoy visiting. This month, you might like to try out some of these*:

• http://www.agitart.org/ - Think Again, artists who strike back at mainstream ideas that perpetuate injustice
• http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/ - Ethnologue, an online catalogue of the world's languages

* These sites are not in any way endorsed or connected with Parish Patience. The listing of a commercial site does not imply any recommendation or warranty concerning the products or services offered.

Contact us:

Parish Patience Solicitors
Immigration Law Section
Level 1, State Street Centre
338 Pitt Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000
AUSTRALIA 

Tel: +612 9286 8700
Fax: +612 9283 3323
Email

Liability is limited by the Solicitors Scheme under the Professional Standards Act 1994 (NSW)

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