Hundreds of refugees are being threatened with a minimum of one year in prison if they refuse to cooperate with efforts to deport them, under a new bill introduced by Labor. This bill passing would mean refugees who don't cooperate with the government's attempt to deport them could be fined almost $100,000 and imprisoned. Labor have made this disgraceful move after the high court ruled it was illegal for the government to indefinitely detain refugees like this in Australia. If people on bridging visas, without visas, or in immigration detention fail to comply with a directions from the Immigration Minister to assist in their own deportation will be a criminal offence carrying a mandatory minimum of 12 months in prison, a maximum of five years, a $93,900 fine, or both imprisonment and a fine. One of the refugees currently at the centre of this case is known as ASF17 - a bisexual Iranian man who the government are currently attempting to deport back to Iran, where he will face certain persecution and fears for his life. ASF17 has been held in indefinite immigration detention in PNG since he fled Iran to Australia in 2013. The government justifies his detention on the basis that he has refused to cooperate with Iranian authorities to receive the necessary travel documents to be deported. Now, ASF17 is at the centre of a legal case which will be heard by the high court in April, arguing that refugees in his position should be covered by last year's high court ruling declaring indefinite immigrant detention unlawful. The response of the Labor government has been to brutally double down on their anti-refugee politics. This is a disgrace - everyone fleeing persecution and oppression in their home countries should be welcome here. We Demand: - STOP the Migration Amendment (removals and other measures) bill - Allow refugees in Australia without visas, or with any kind of temporary visa to have PERMANENT protection in Australia, without threat of deportation - END the racist cruelty of the Australian government toward refugees Petition Authored by the National Union of Students Queer/LGBTQIA+ Department, Monash Student Association Queer Officers, and the Tamil Refugee Council

All the thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who had their lives torn apart under the Liberals’ policies of torture deserve a secure future. Since the election there has not even been a timeline announced for the plan to convert 19,000 Temporary Protection and Safehaven Enterprise Visas to permanent visas. Medevac refugees brought for healthcare from PNG and Nauru also need the right to stay permanently in Australia. 9000 asylum seekers denied protection under the Liberals’ unfair Fast Track processing system, which the new Labor government plans to abolish, need security and the right to resettle permanently in Australia. Every day without a permanent visa causes more anguish, denying people the right to study, family reunion, travel, access to NDIS and other crucial health services, creating barriers to work and in many cases denying families any welfare and childcare access.

Hassan Ghahramani is a 48-year-old Iranian refugee who has been held in detention by Australia since July 2013 on Christmas Island, Manus island and now Nauru. He was accepted for settlement by Canada two years ago but is still waiting, caught up in a bureaucratic deadlock compounded by the outbreak of COVID on Nauru. He has not seen his children for nine years. Hassan suffers from medical conditions that cause severe pain and require urgent medical care.

Refugee communities who arrived by boat up to 10 years ago are still generally ineligible for permanent protection. This group must instead rely on temporary protection visas (TPV) or Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEV) and constantly re-apply after every 3 or 5 years respectively. The differential treatment of refugees by the way we came to Australia to seek safety is not only out of step with the Refugee Convention, but also has life-changing consequences for people for whom Australia is now our only home. It means constant uncertainty about the future, lack of access to essential services and support, and indefinite separation from family not in Australia. These consequences unnecessarily create a cycle of disadvantage and also contribute to higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression. It’s past time to recognise all refugees as respected members of the community and enable us to fully participate in Australian society.

A group of Medevac refugees held at MITA (Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation) detention center in Broadmeadows have re-started their hunger strike protest to demand their freedom. This second hunger strike began on Thursday 15 July, it follows the first hunger strike that began on June 17, and lasted 15 days. 12 people are currently refusing food, one is in the Northern Hospital where he has been since June 21. “We are very tired,” said one of the hunger strikers “We are nine years in detention. No-one can tell us why. Since our last hunger strike, we did not get any answers.” Vali, one of the hunger strikers said “We are on hunger strike for our freedom. We want to know what is the difference between us and other released Medevac refugees? Why are we still in detention?” We hold grave fears for the health of the hunger strikers. Their health is being harmed by the policies of the Coalition government. No Coalition government Minister has ever provided an explanation as to why around half of the Medevac refugees have been released, but half remain in indefinite detention. Indefinite detention for Medevac refugees is now into its ninth year, 33 Medevac refugees are held in the Park Hotel in Melbourne and 38 in MITA in Broadmeadows. In total around 90 refugees who came Australia's offshore hell holes on PNG and Nauru are still detained around Australia. Around 230 remain offshore. They must all be freed.

Scott Morrison’s visa system favours big businesses at the expense of working people. There are workers who have lived in this country for years, who have families and communities here, and every day do the work that keeps our country running - but who are stuck in limbo from temporary visa to temporary visa. Meanwhile, the government has enabled exploitative employers to churn through a vulnerable temporary migrant workforce with limited rights. We need a fair visa system that puts workers over profit, and that gives every worker a fair chance - no matter where we come from.

My name is Ranjan. I’m a 53-year-old asylum seeker from Sri Lanka. I have worked at Polytrade Recycling in Dandenong, Melbourne, since 2017. On 23 July, I was sacked by text message. My supervisor told me that I’m no longer needed. This happened on the day I took sick leave. Two days earlier, I became unconscious at work. I was taken by ambulance and the bill was paid by Polytrade. I had to take sick leave to do further tests on my chest. When my union representative contacted the human resources manager, the manager claimed that I spoke with a colleague about lodging work cover claim and that’s one of the reasons behind my dismissal. In 2017, Polytrade received a government grant of over $500,000. Meanwhile I was underpaid by $7 an hour. Only after we joined the Australian Workers Union did Polytrade lift our pay to the required minimum under the Waste Management Award. But I’m still owed tens of thousands of dollars from the underpayments. I rely on my job to pay my rent, bills, food and support my family back in Sri Lanka. I want my job back. And I want all Polytrade workers to have secure and safe jobs with fair pay. Please sign this petition.

It is totally unacceptable that this systematic abuse of refugees and asylum seekers - innocent people seeking a better life - is happening in our community! We note that the council has offered its services to the men, but have not called for them to be freed. This is totally inadequate. We call on the Darebin council to publicly petition the federal government to free these brave men, along with all the other refugees languishing in detention, and release them into the community with full citizenship rights. Further, we call on the council to explore and deploy all possible financial, regulatory and other measures under its control to pressure the Mantra Hotel to abandon its contract with Border Force. We invite as many people from the area as possible to join us in a peaceful and socially distant gathering outside the Mantra Hotel on August 7. Further details are available at https://bit.ly/3ids0O6.

As COVID-19 changes the way we live and work, it’s essential that everyone has access to safe healthcare. Yet there are tens of thousands of people living in Australia without access to Medicare. People who have to make the choice between risking deportation or seeking urgent medical help. They know that hospitals and doctors can report them to the Department of Home Affairs if questions are raised about their visa status. With borders around the world closed and international flights costing upwards of $5000 per person, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers are forced to face impossible choices. The Morrison Government’s cruel directive that temporary migrants should just ‘go home’ forces thousands of people to make impossible choices, through no fault of their own. In the midst of a global pandemic, people must be able to access essential healthcare without fear of deportation and family separation.

Glady Berejiklian and the NSW Liberal Party have not provided any relief to international students and temporary workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Most temporary workers have now lost their jobs and cannot return home. They are trapped here. Many other international workers work in essential services, supporting the whole community - but they have no support extended to them in a time of crisis. NSW is the only state to provide no support.

These workers pick the fruit and vegetables we eat everyday, they’re in the hospitality industry, they’re delivery drivers and carers, they’re the backbone of our economy. The JobKeeper payment exists to provide a lifeline to those hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis, how can the Morrison Government justify their decision to exclude over 1.1 million migrant workers, temporary visa holders and casuals? The Morrison Government does not address the very real public health crisis that millions of workers are facing. Asking them to ‘go home’ or raid their meagre retirement savings to survive COVID-19 is not only short-sighted, it’s racist. So many of these workers have built lives here and have made Australia their home and with borders closed, these workers have nowhere else to go. The Government must extend income support to all workers. Not doing so risks the entire community’s health and shirks Australia's moral responsibility to look after the wellbeing of all who are here during an unprecedented pandemic. The lack of support for this group of people shows that the Government treats migrants and international students as cash cows. They hire them for cheap labour and ask them to pay huge education fees, but when things get difficult, they wash their hands clean of any responsibility. This pandemic does not discriminate based on visa status or employment status, and neither should we. Everyone deserves to be safe. That's why we need Minister Ruston to ensure a wage subsidy for all workers so that all of us can follow public health advice and stay safe during this crisis.

The Government must extend income support to all workers. Not doing so risks the entire community’s health and shirks Australia's moral responsibility to look after the wellbeing of all who are here during an unprecedented pandemic. The lack of support for this group of people shows that the Government treats migrants and international students as cash cows. They hire them for cheap labour and ask them to pay huge education fees, but when things get difficult, they wash their hands clean of any responsibility. This pandemic does not discriminate based on visa status or employment status, and neither should we. Everyone deserves to be safe. That's is why we need Minister Ruston to ensure a wage subsidy for all workers so that all of us can follow public health advice and stay safe during this crisis. Sign the petition now.