“The new laws are some of the most extreme that we have seen in over a decade and will have major consequences for refugee, migrant and multicultural communities,” said RCOA Chief Executive Officer Paul Power.
“Having spent this week working alongside community members, legal experts, and refugee advocates, we have seen the outrage and disgust that many feel about these laws.
The full impact of these new laws is not known, as there has been insufficient time to review and scrutinise the legislation. What is known so far is that the Australian Government now has the power: to pay undisclosed third countries to take non-citizens, including recognised refugees with Australian citizen family members, without any safeguards to prevent any harm, detention or return to persecution; to imprison people who will not return to countries where they fear for their lives; to create travel bans on citizens trying to visit Australia for study, business, tourism or to see family, in an effort to pressure their governments into accepting forced returns; to reverse refugees’ protection findings in order to remove them from Australia, and to seize mobile phones and conduct unwarranted searches on people in immigration detention.
These changes could see thousands of people detained, imprisoned or returned to harm, and the Australian Government has created immunity for itself to guard against cases that would hold them accountable for the harm or even death caused by these laws.
“There is no doubt that the draconian measures in these laws will have a disastrous and long-term ripple effect on the Australian community.
“The Government has tried to absolve itself of any responsibility, so again, it will fall to everyday Australians to support families forced apart by these laws, to monitor how people coerced to unknown places are faring and to push for accountability and transparency where the Government has failed.”