Federal Government proposes legislation that sows division and will tear families apart

Last week, the Federal Government issued new regulations under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), and introduced a new bill to Parliament. The new measures seek to significantly expand the Government’s broad and unchecked powers to overturn protective provisions designed to protect refugees, and deport people to other countries where they may face serious harm.

The new regulations and bill come one week after the High Court of Australia ruled that forcing people released from immigration detention to wear ankle bracelets and live under curfews was unconstitutional. The move to introduce new measures this week is seen by many as the Government’s response to the High Court’s ruling.

The Federation of Community Legal Centres and human rights organisations across the country are deeply concerned by the proposed legislation, which we believe to be overly punitive, disrespectful to the rule of law, and harmful to individuals and their families.

The proposed legislation will:

• Enable the expansion of offshore immigration detention to more countries, including those that are not signatories to the Refugee Convention.
• Expand the Minister for Immigration's power to overturn a broader cohort of refugee protection findings.
• Introduce Australian Government immunity against civil claims from harms in offshore immigration detention or regional processing of asylum claims.
• Expand the Australian Government's powers to collect and share personal information about people's previous criminal legal system interactions (e.g. spent convictions)
• Introduce a new test to impose certain conditions (including curfew and ankle monitoring conditions on Bridging Visa R* holders) at the Minister’s discretion.

Our primary concern regarding the bill and new regulations is for the individuals it will affect, and the families that will be separated as a result. We believe that such inhumane treatment of people born outside of Australia will have damaging implications on Australia’s diverse and multicultural society. The legislation foreshadows the serious harm that may be inflicted upon people as a result of these new approaches, yet the Government has opted to avoid accountability through new immunity provisions.

We also acknowledge the discriminatory nature of the proposed legislation, which will renege the basic human rights of certain people in Australia,  and fail to uphold the rights of all individuals to equal protection under the law.

The bill and new regulations also disregard the rule of law and obligations under international law, including the Refugee Convention 1951. Last week, the High Court of Australia ruled that the Government does not have the power to impose punishment, and that non-citizens are entitled to the same protections against interferences with their liberty and dignity as everyone else. This legislation demonstrates the Federal Government’s reluctance to abide by this ruling.

The legislation is likely to be debated in the Federal Parliament early next week.

We urge decision-makers to reject the new legislation in its entirety.

Louisa Gibbs, CEO at the Federation of Community Legal Centres said:

“Under Australian law, all individuals have equal access to human rights, regardless of where they were born. This legislation proposes denying certain visa holders their basic human rights, and poses an unacceptable risk of harm to the individuals and families who face surveillance, deportation to places they are likely to be unsafe, and separation.

“Victorian Community Legal Centres work to uphold the law and protect the rights of all people in our diverse and multicultural community. We will continue to stand up to any attempts to override legal convention and the law, and to divide our community.”