Just released: Cruel, costly, and ineffective: the failure of offshore processing in Australia
August 2021. A new Policy Brief from the Kaldor Centre shows the failure of the ‘Australian model’ of offshore processing
Supporting people seeking asylum and refugees – July 2021 meeting
Keeping up the pressure! June 2021 newsletter
Labor for Refugees NSW AGM
Labor for Refugees’ submission to the Senate Inquiry into visas for family members
What can we do now?
How did we do at Conference?
A chance to change Labor’s refugee policies
Please note that the resolution for the ALP Special Platform Conference has been amended slightly. The final version can be found here.
Labor for Refugees: Resolution for ALP Special Platform Conference 2021
NATIONAL CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE
Labor for Refugees resolution for ALP Special Platform Conference 2021
Labor for Refugees asks that Labor’s Policy be framed to provide a positive and compassionate approach by a Labor Government to the treatment of refugees, rather than a reaction to the punitive and cruel approach of the Coalition Government. Refugees and those seeking asylum in Australia are to be welcomed under a Labor Government as assets who enhance this nation and our economy and provide positive contribution to our strong multicultural society.
To achieve this goal we urge Labor to adopt the following policies in the Party Platform:
- End offshore detention and the offshore processing regime
- Provide a clear pathway to citizenship for any person who is granted a permanent protection visa by recognizing all time that the person has spent in immigration detention, offshore detention or on a temporary or bridging visa as qualifying time for purposes of qualification for citizenship.
- People seeking asylum are to be accommodated in government-run and urban-based reception centres.
- Create an independent Refugee Review Tribunal following abolition of the Immigration Assessment Authority. The Tribunal will be free from political appointments and only judges, retired judges, and senior counsel will be eligible for appointment by the Attorney-General. The Tribunal will apply the same procedure as applies in the General Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.