In 2018, the Coalition extended the wait times for most government payments to four years, but carved out family tax benefits, carers and parental payments under a deal with Labor.
The new measure will affect 13,200 future migrants and 45,000 families who arrive in Australia after 1 January 2022, forcing them to wait four years for carer payments and allowances; family tax benefits A and B; parental leave, dad and partner pay.
The shadow social services minister, Linda Burney, said it was an âunusual and unexpected measure in light of the current economic circumstances and the pause on migrationâ.
âWe will examine the detail and consult extensively with the community,â she told Guardian Australia. âWhat we do know is that migrants have consistently been left behind and neglected by this government, especially during this pandemic, when temporary visa holders were excluded from social security supports.â
Stranded Australian citizens petition the United Nations
The Australian government’s actions in effectively denying the fundamental democratic right of tens of thousands of citizens to return to the country, amid the worsening global COVID-19 pandemic, are so egregious that a United Nations body has declared them unlawful.
The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) ruled that the government must “facilitate and ensure the prompt return to Australia” of three citizens who have been stranded overseas since the pandemic began.
Air New Zealand flight arriving at Sydney airport (Source: Wikipedia)
The three citizens filed a complaint with the UNHRC against the Liberal-National government on the grounds they have been denied a basic human right to return to their country of citizenship.
Darwin residents are campaigning every day for the Medevac refugees to be freed.
The fight to free nine refugees who have been locked up in community detention in Darwin for more than a year is drawing wide support.
The campaign, organised by Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network (DASSAN), has now won the support of Darwin City Council which, on April 13, voiced its “strong opposition” to the refugees being indefinitely detained.
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Since January, every single day, activists gather outside a six-foot fence behind the Mercure Airport compound, and call for the immediate release of Afsaneh, Mojtaba, Behnam, Yaghoob, Malakeh, Hajar, Abbas, Asfaneh and Mojtaba. All are from Iran and all have been deemed to be refugees. They were brought to Darwin to receive medical care, which they could not receive on Nauru where they had been for seven years.
Advocates plea for safe haven for Afghanistan s persecuted afr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from afr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.