Labor Govt Opens Door for 19,000 Asylum-Seekers to Apply for Permanent Residency

Sri Lankan asylum seekers after their boat broke down in Indonesia. They were on the way to Australia's Christmas Island. Oscar Siagian/Getty Images

More than 19,000 asylum seekers have been given the go-ahead to apply for permanent residency in Australia by the Labor government.

In a statement, the Australian immigration minister said the country “owed” asylum seekers protection, but at the same time, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil issued a warning to people smugglers.

“Let me be crystal clear—if you try to enter Australia without a valid visa, you will be turned back or returned to your port of origin. There is zero chance of settling in Australia under Operation Sovereign Borders [OSB],” she said, noting that the new residency pathways are only being offered to those who arrived in Australia before the launch of OSB in 2013.

“The Australian Defence Force and Australian Border Force are patrolling our waters to intercept and return any boats that try to enter.”

Under the provision, the Albanese government would fulfil an election commitment to provide visa pathways to existing Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) and Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) holders.

“There are thousands of TPV and SHEV holders in the community that have endured ten years of uncertainty due to the policies of the previous Liberal government,” Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said.

He said TPV and SHEV holders were working, paying taxes, and employing Australians, but were unable to get loans to buy a home or pursue further studies.

“It makes no sense—economically or socially—to keep them in limbo,” he said.

An Australian navy boat cruises by Christmas Island on Feb. 29. A boatload of asylum seekers from China decided to seek refugee status in Australia rather than attempt the dangerous journey toward New Zealand. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Refugee advocacy group the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre welcomed the move.

“The significance of this announcement cannot be underestimated. We have tears of joy for all those who have been waiting for 10 years to have the permanency they deserve,” said Jana Favero, the centre’s advocacy director.

“Teal” independent MPs Kate Chaney and Allegra Spender also applauded the move.

“At last. Limbo ends for thousands of refugees who now can apply for permanent residency,” Spender wrote on Twitter.

Coalition Opposes Move, Warns Smugglers Will Be on the Move

In 2008, Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd abolished offshore processing, a John Howard-era policy that resulted in a surge of smugglers making an attempt to enter Australia’s borders.

It’s estimated that between 2007 and 2013, more than 50,000 people were detained, with 1,200 dying at sea.

Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan criticised the government’s move, saying it would encourage people smugglers.

“Temporary Protection Visas are a key pillar of Operation Sovereign Borders, and brick by brick, the government seems to be dismantling Operation Sovereign Borders,” he told Sky News Australia on Feb. 13.

Suspected asylum seekers were spotted abandoning their boat in croc-infested waters of far North Queensland after it ran aground on Aug. 26, 2018. Reuters

“You’ve got to remember that Kevin Rudd in 2013, with Mr. Albanese as his deputy, said that these people would never settle in Australia.

“What the people smugglers will be thinking, if they’ve seen this all before, they’ve seen these statements all of a sudden when you test the will of [Prime Minister] Anthony Albanese ... in the end, that will bend, and what we will see is the boats will start again.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud said the government had given smugglers a “product to sell.”

“What this will do is send a very strong message to those that are trying to sell a product in faraway countries ... that Australia [is] back on the menu,” he told Sky News Australia.

The government will set aside $9.4 million over two years to fast track visa applications.