At the end of August, the CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia, Paul Power, wrote to the Home Affairs Minister, Mr. Tony Burke, urging him to re-think the Government’s approach to people whose claims for protection were rejected under the “Fast Track” process. His letter draws the Minister’s attention to a UN report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka from where about one-third of those whose claims were rejected come.
We re-publish Paul Power’s letter in the hope it will generate greater awareness and prompt more people to send letters to Minister Burke supporting Paul Power’s request.
30 August 2024
Hon Tony Burke MP
Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for the Arts,
Minister for Cyber Security and Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Mr Burke,
Among the many complex issues the Albanese Government has inherited from the previous Government has been the unresolved status of thousands of people whose claims for protection were rejected under the “fast track” process introduced under the Abbott Government’s 2014 temporary protection legislation. I write to raise this matter with you and draw your attention to a new United Nations report which comments on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, the largest source country for people whose applications were rejected under the temporary protection policy.
Last week, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a comprehensive report on Sri Lanka to be tabled at next month’s UN Human Rights Council session. It details the ongoing violations and threats to basic freedoms that people – especially Tamils – face in Sri Lanka. Authorities have continued to use the corrupt Prevention of Terrorism Act to arrest and detain people, primarily Tamils commemorating their family members who died in the civil war. In just over a year, more than 1,340 people were subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, with 26 people dying in custody and 21 people subject to extrajudicial killings.
The UN report stated: OHCHR assessed as credible specific accounts of security forces using various techniques of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Many of the interviewees also reported experiencing sexual torture, including rape, squeezing testicles, forced nudity, biting of breasts, either during interrogation or in the holding cell. According to the report this torture was carried out over three to five days in order, amongst other things, to gain information about the activities of people living abroad.
In light of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, the UN Human Rights Council recommends that UN member States review asylum measures with respect to Sri Lankan nationals to protect those facing reprisals and refrain from any refoulement in cases that present a real risk of torture or other serious human rights violations.
Figures published by the Department of Home Affairs this month show that, as at 30 June 2024, Sri Lankan nationals make up 2,999 (or 31%) of the 9,581 people on Bridging Visa E. This new UN Human Rights Council report provides a compelling case for the Australian Government to review the cases of Sri Lankan nationals who have been living for years with the fear of forced return to the country they fled.Sri
Lanka is by no means the only source country where conditions relating to human rights and democracy have deteriorated significantly since people currently on bridging visas first sought asylum in Australia. We note that the source countries of people currently on a Bridging Visa E (BVE) include Iran (2,358 people), Pakistan (631), Bangladesh (511), Afghanistan (488), Myanmar (64), Somalia (41), Sudan (39) and Syria (21) – all countries where serious human rights issues have arisen since fast track applications were assessed. There are also 886 stateless people on BV-Es, many with no country where safe return can be guaranteed.
While in Opposition, Labor Parliamentarians voiced concerns about the fairness of the fast track process. This led to a commitment in the 2021 ALP National Platform to abolish the process, with measures subsequently put in place by the Albanese Government to comprehensively overhaul the asylum application appeals process. The abolition of the Immigration Assessment Authority and the related reforms were welcomed by the Refugee Council and our members.
The lack of robustness of the fast track process is sufficient reason for an urgent rethinking of the situation for all people who have been given negative decisions through it. Additionally, the regular reports on human rights which have highlighted issues in Sri Lanka and other countries throughout the time prior to and since these 9,581 people on BV-Es sought asylum in Australia warrant further consideration.
The Albanese Government has demonstrated its constructive approach to finding practical alternatives for some people who similarly had asylum claims initially rejected. These include the widely publicised granting of permanent visas to the Nadesalingam family from Biloela and Neil Para and his family from Ballarat, and decisions by the previous Immigration Minister to lift the bar to allow some nationals of Afghanistan and Myanmar to reapply for protection given the serious deterioration in human rights conditions in their countries of origin. There is a need to consider how the status of all people affected by the fast track process will be resolved, noting that forced return is a prospect which is greatly feared by many families and individuals.
People affected by this policy have been in Australia for so long that they have put down deep roots. They have demonstrated over the past 11 or more years that they live peacefully in Australia and contribute constructively to the nation. The 9,581 people on Bridging Visa E, including the 2,999 Sri Lankan nationals, are living in every Australian state and territory, in capital cities and numerous regional centres. They are contributing through employment in many different fields, including construction, hospitality, transport services, landscaping and manufacturing, and are valued members of their local communities. Some have formed their own businesses and employ Australian citizens and residents. People have married, some have had children, and many who arrived as children have completed their schooling in Australia and moved into the workforce.
Living in uncertainty and with the constant fear of forced return for more than 11 years has had a considerable impact on the mental health of many people. There have been a number of suicides and serious incidents of self-harm, including this week’s tragic death of a young man in Melbourne whose family sought protection in Australia in 2012 when he was just 11 years of age.
As we flagged in our letter to you on 1 August 2024, the Refugee Council has been actively working with the Department of Home Affairs in suggesting alternative responses to people in the protection process who have faced years-long delays and are facing crises. We have been working to put forward practical, constructive ideas and options to address the community concerns that also consider the broader work underway by the Government to reform the refugee protection process.
A timely reassessment of the protection needs of those rejected through the fast track process would be the most constructive response to the current situation for all those who have lived for years without certainty. Lifting the bar and allowing people to apply for onshore protection or another appropriate visa would provide the opportunity for people’s personal circumstances and the changed human rights conditions in their country of origin to be considered fairly. The provision of legal assistance would ensure that the people can put forward well-presented applications and the Government can make considered decisions. Like the Resolution of Status (RoS) visa process, if a protection finding is not made, the grant of a permanent visa could still be possible where there are compelling and compassionate circumstances or where there are family members who hold permanent visas or Australian citizenship.
As part of this reassessment process, consideration should be given to the thousands of people who have been waiting for years for judicial review of fast track decisions. People have taken their cases to court in the hope that a court might rule that their cases be reassessed. If the Government is prepared to consider a reassessment of claims in light of changed personal and country circumstances, many people might see this as a more practical and timelier alternative to seeking judicial review.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the points raised in this letter with you and members of your team.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Power
Chief Executive Officer
Refugee Council of Australia
It is over 100 days since refugees began public demonstrations urging the Federal Government to undertake the re-think Paul Power’s letter requests. Many Australians have joined them in solidarity at these demonstrations. While you may not be able to show your solidarity by joining these demonstrations, you can show your solidarity by sending a letter or e-mail to the Home Affairs Minister asking him to respond positively to the calls of refugees whose claims have been rejected under the “Fast Track” process. Make sure to share this information with your parish, school, work colleagues, neighbours and friends too.
You will find the contact form for writing to the Home Affairs Minister at:
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-and-support/departmental-forms/online-forms/contact-the-minister