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Key Points
- 9,000 asylum seekers on bridging visas who were denied refugee status are worried about how a new bill will affect their futures in Australia.
- Some community members say the proposed laws will impact not only asylum seekers but also 70,000 Iranian Australians.
- The Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens called the bill “a prime example of institutionalised racism masquerading as immigration policy”.
“I’ve been very vocal. There’s evidence of me online speaking out against the Iranian regime. If they were to send me back, it would be like having a target on me.”
Tania and her family Credit: Supplied
‘They haven’t excluded us’
“They explicitly haven’t said they’re targeting asylum seekers and those with bridging visas. But we are still included in the bill. They haven’t excluded us,” she said.
The Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) handle different asylum cases. The IAA handles fast-track cases, while the AAT handles non-fast-track cases. Data on asylum seekers from six countries shows that the AAT’s success rate for asylum cases is higher than that of the IAA.
Daniel Ghezelbash is the Deputy Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW.
“We are concerned that the bill could still lead to people who do have protection claims being forced to return to countries where their life or freedom is threatened,” he said.
‘None of us will be safe’
Nineteen organisations and community groups in Australia led by Iranian Australians have launched a campaign against the bill and written an open letter to the public, the Senate, Parliament and Australian journalists.
“It will impact the Iranian Australian community as a whole. None of us will be safe. The community is really worried.”
‘God-like power given to the minister’
“There has been a great deal of criticism in recent years of the ‘god-like’ powers given to the minister. Decisions made under these wide discretionary powers lack transparency and accountability, and there are very limited options for appeal,” Ghezelbash said.
Macquarie University’s Dr Daniel Ghezelbash. Credit: Macquarie University
He is concerned that this bill is “opening the door for arbitrary and politicised decision-making targeting unprecedentedly large cohorts of individuals, particularly with respect to the power to issue travel bans”.
“This kind of approach is in direct contrast with how the Labor government promised the Iranian Australian community to support them in their fight for democracy and against the Islamic regime in Iran,” Dadpour said.
“This is not according to the country’s human rights obligations.”
‘I grew up here thinking I was an Australian’
“The Greens were successful in delaying the Bill and pushing it to an inquiry,” Faruqi said.
Australian Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi speaks during Senate estimates at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, February 13, 2024. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVING Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
“This Bill represents the insidious ways in which power and privilege are wielded to perpetuate systems of oppression and marginalisation. It is a prime example of institutionalised racism masquerading as immigration policy.”
“What message is this sending to Australian society?”