By Cam Lucadou-Wells
An asylum seeker in the South East has been banned from paid work as he waits years on a legal bid to remain in Australia.
The man, effectively without a legal income, risks deportation by working cash-in-hand jobs to survive.
Otherwise he and his family depend on charity, he says.
The man says his protection visa – along with his permit to work – was revoked by the Federal Government after he launched a High Court of Australia appeal to stay in the country.
He is likely to wait for up to three years for his hearing – a case that will cost him $10,000.
Anna Kingston from the Refugee Action Collective said temporary visas had first been suggested by One Nation’s Pauline Hanson. The then Liberal minister for immigration Philip Ruddock initially rejected the idea as “unconscionable”, but then introduced temporary protection visas (TPVs) in 1999.
More recently, refugees have been given bridging visas, which are usually for three or five years. Various conditions are often imposed, including restrictions on work, study, education or access to Medicare. The visas also come with a “code of conduct” which makes it difficult for asylum seekers to speak out.
Other refugees have been given Safe Haven Enterprise Visas, which require them to work in the countryside.
Download 7.25 MB
After being held for years on islands in the Pacific and then in detention centres in Australia, a group of around 50 asylum seekers and refugees are now celebrating their freedom.
They ve been released from detention centres here into the community after fleeing their countries by boat and being taken to offshore detention in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
Refugee advocates are hoping for more releases in the coming weeks.
Guest: Jana Favero, Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Producer:
Statement from Home Affairs
• The Australian Government remains committed to regional processing and third country resettlement for persons under these arrangements.
Vinnies call for release of refugees detained in Australia | The Catholic Leader catholicleader.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from catholicleader.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.