Coalition’s immigration policy fails its own test

Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s claims about the ‘values’ of migrants will leave many Australian citizens and permanent residents feeling less safe and more unwelcome in their adopted homeland, according to the Refugee Council of Australia.

In his address to the Menzies Research Centre yesterday, Mr Taylor praised migrants and refugees who settled in his hometown of Cooma in the 1950s and 1960s as people who loved Australia’s freedom because of their experience of war and oppression but failed to understand that more recently arrived migrants and refugees feel exactly the same way.

RCOA Co-CEO Paul Power said Mr Taylor’s claims that many migrants do not support Australian values and are here to take advantage of the country will further embolden bigots to make life even harder for Australians of migrant and refugee background.

‘Many migrant and refugee community members are reporting that the abuse they are experiencing on Australia’s streets is increasing and some community members say they fear going out in public.

‘The irony of Mr Taylor questioning whether migrants adhere to Australian values is that, in doing so, he is demonstrating a set of values which falls well short of the concept of giving everyone a fair go,’ said Mr Power.

Discrimination

The Refugee Council of Australia says Mr Taylor’s calls to re-assess Palestinians who have already undergone extensive security checks, including by ASIO, raise serious concerns about collective suspicion and discriminatory treatment.

Framing entire groups of people as a ‘risk’ based on their origin or the conditions they are fleeing is the exact form of discrimination that goes against the values that the Coalition asserts to defend, and this approach undermines the Australia’s fair go. The RCOA says this policy reflects a troubling willingness to single out a vulnerable group of people fleeing conflict and subject them all to discrimination.

For Palestinian communities, the impact of these proposals would be significant. At a time when many Palestinians are seeking safety, reunification with family, or temporary refuge, additional scrutiny and duplicative vetting create real risks of exclusion, uncertainty and harm.

CEO of the Palestinian Australians Welfare Association Inc Kassem Chalabi says a proposal that stigmatises communities must be rejected.

‘The proposal is deeply unfair and disregards the reality of the people it targets. The Palestinian Australians who have arrived during this period are not only law-abiding, but are highly educated, resilient individuals.

‘They are seeking safety and a fresh start after immense hardship, loss and displacement. Many have left behind everything they knew to escape violence and instability, with the hope of rebuilding their lives in Australia. To subject this vulnerable community to blanket rescreening sends a harmful message and risks eroding inclusion and respect.’

Disastrous policy

RCOA says it’s also deeply troubled by the Coalition’s announcement that they would reintroduce Temporary Protection Visas for recognised refugees. This disastrous policy has never acted as a deterrent to people seeking protection from persecution. In fact, the number of arrivals increased significantly after the policy’s introduction.

They say few refugees granted temporary protection ever left Australia because they had nowhere safe to go. People come to Australia seeking safety, stability, and the rule of law. Many are fleeing situations where surveillance and scrutiny of personal expression are part of everyday life. Policies that expand monitoring of individuals’ speech or subject people to heightened scrutiny based simply on where they come from risks undermining the very values that Australia seeks to uphold.

RCOA’s Paul Power says Australia is at a crossroads: now is the time to build cohesion, not create more division. Australians want to see sensible reform and genuine leadership.