15 October 2024 - International and national refugee sector experts and advocates have identified four urgent areas of reform needed to address ongoing disadvantage and exclusion caused by Australia’s policies towards refugees and people seeking asylum.

Two hundred delegates gathered in Kyneton, Victoria (11-13 October) for the two-yearly Rural Australians for Refugees conference which brings 75 groups together from around the country.

Delegates agreed that Australia’s policies need to be urgently reframed to comply with our responsibilities under international law and to prevent further damage to people seeking protection.

Behrouz Boochani, Benham Satah, Gillian Triggs, David Manne, Anthea Vogl, Zaki Haidari and Caroline Fleay were among the human rights speakers who compared Australia’s current framework with international practices. They identified that:

-       Australia’s current deterrence-based and exclusionary policy framework causes ongoing harm and disadvantage for refugees and people seeking asylum

-       This needs urgent reform to address values of just and humane protection for all refugees and people seeking asylum – no matter their country, faith, ethnicity or other factors

-       This includes prioritising solutions that work with the global community in solving the challenges of dealing with 120 million people who are displaced by conflict, environmental disaster or need for protection

-       Looking to the past to also ensure that our policies are not perpetuating exclusionary and race-based legacies

Delegates acknowledged important reforms, such as the resolution of status visa for 19,000 people on TPVs and SHEVs announced in 2023. However, they pointed to the extremely restrictive nature of current policies which continue to cause harm and disadvantage to people once they reach Australia, whilst they are in transit locations such as Indonesia, and to family still in origin countries.

David Manne, Refugee Legal, spoke of the deterrence driving the policy approach which belies the generosity of spirit and welcome for refugees which lies deep in the Australian nation’s character and history:

“Research consistently reveals sustained and very strong public support for our refugee resettlement program. This support has consistently reached 80%. We realise that the resettlement program – bringing people in – is based on need and we’re proud of it.”

“But the truth is that harm and inhumanity still pervade our refugee policies.”

“We’re just at the start of the road to fundamental reform so crucial to the rights and lives of people seeking asylum and refugees. While we’ve seen some progress, it doesn’t come close to meeting international obligations and the values which underpin them: humanity, compassion, fairness and justice.”

Zaki Haidari (Amnesty International), speaking as part of the Australian Hazara Advocacy Network,

“The Australian government needs to also take accountability and provide more support for people, like myself and other Hazaras who continue to be targeted in genocide that has been continuing for over 100 years. We have been targeted for our faith, our ethnicity, our striving for democracy. Right now, our people are being killed in mass numbers by the Taliban – just last week a group of 19 men was killed. We need the Australian government to widen its definition of family so that adult children are also recognised as part of the family unit so that vulnerable young women are not left behind. We also need the prioritisation of support for Hazaras who are being actively targeted in ongoing genocide.”

Conference delegates, including regional Australians who are part of 75 RAR groups around the country, identified four priorities for urgent reform:

-       Removing the temporary nature of Australia’s current policies which work to exclude people from society and cause ongoing disadvantage. This causes extreme distress and the risk of destitution for refugees who have been living here for more than a decade – but also to refugees in transit and to their extended families in countries of origin

-       Providing more equitable and immediate humanitarian support for refugees displaced by war and civil conflict, regardless of their countries of origin, faith and political ideologies

-       Taking decisive action to support communities experiencing genocide and sanction governments committing genocide

-       Removing offshore detention and finding immediate pathways to permanency for people already impacted by the system, including bringing people stranded in PNG to Australia for urgent attention

-       Widening definitions of family so that families are not having to make traumatic decisions about leaving an adult child behind in extremely vulnerable circumstances

Rural Australians for Refugees President, Reverend Dr Paul Dalzell, emphasised that this is a vital opportunity for Australia to reframe its refugee policy:

“For the past 24 years, our groups in regional communities around Australia have been actively advocating for refugees and people seeking asylum and working to help bring people to safety through community sponsorship and employment programs.

Communities have been transformed as everyday Australians welcome hard-working, talented and caring people who have fled danger. As the world grapples with widespread conflict and war and environmental disasters, Australia needs to be able to respond quickly with policies based on welcome and safe settlement for people who are displaced.”

It is time that we turned our back on approaches that punish and demonise – and recognise the fundamental support and welcome that underpins this nation. We can and should be developing frameworks that provide hope and security for people fleeing danger.” 

For media queries and to arrange interviews, call Sandy Watson 0401 714 880 (Rural Australians for Refugees)