“One Labor MP was frank about the chaos. The party would be at war if the cuts went ahead, they said. Members of Labor’s left faction were “pretty outraged”, and said caucus had not been consulted. More than a few MPs went straight to the offices of Albanese and the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, seeking an explanation. One Labor source said that Burke told MPs no decision had been made on cutting the intake. Labor for Refugees, a rank and file group, said in a statement released on Friday that it was “grateful” for the prime minister’s intervention in “ensuring Australia’s humanity hasn’t been forgotten”.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/28/labor-wrestles-with-migration-figures-but-opponents-struggle-to-find-the-target

LABOR FOR REFUGEES – MEDIA RELEASE (27/8/26)

Maintaining Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program
Labor for Refugees is grateful for the Prime Minister’s intervention to reverse a Government decision reported earlier today, to cut the humanitarian refugee program.

This intervention accords with the recent decision made by the Party at Labor’s National Conference in Adelaide in July.

L4R congratulates the PM on ensuring Australia’s humanity hasn’t been forgotten.

Australia is built on immigration and now more than ever we need immigrants, including highly motivated refugees to help build our most needed local industries, staff our services, staff our agricultural resources and meet the shortages of skilled and unskilled areas of employment.

Now is not the time to give in to the ignorance and bigotry of One Nation.

Labor for Refugees has worked within the Labor Party for 25 years to make the party a party of humanity and compassion for refugees. Now more than ever there is a need for a fair and just system of resettlement of refugees from countries torn by war, terror and starvation.

The nation recently celebrated the successful resettlement of a million refugees since 1947, contributing to every facet of Australian life including our much-loved Socceroos team.

Labor for Refugees recently proposed at Labor’s National Conference, the need to maintain the intake at 20,000 places per year while aspiring to achieve numbers up to 27,000 per
year.

Conference delegates approved an amendment to the ALP Platform, stating: “Labor will seek, in the short term, to maintain Australia’s government funded humanitarian intake numbers at 20,000 places per year while also continuing to aspire to achieving 27,000
places per year.”

This amendment was moved by the National Co-Convenor of Labor for Refugees and was adopted as part of the 2026 ALP National Platform.

Labor for Refugees appreciates very much the Labor MPs who respected the decision of Conference, worked hard to overturn the reported cut and ensured the PM was aware of the
depth of concern about this issue.

For more information contact Peter Lynch, Labor for Refugees National Co-Convenor 0401 141
359.

Alicia Payne MP (Labor) speaking on refugees and asylum seekers in the ACT Legislature 20.8.26

Our next L4R meeting will be held on Wednesday 26 August at 6.30pm 

Anyone who supports our L4R goals is welcome to attend.

Minutes of our July meeting follow:  L4RNSW-ACTMinMtg29Jul26

National Labor Conference:  the outcome National and NSW/ACT Secretary Nizza Siano attended the Conference in Adelaide as an Observer from Wednesday 22 to Saturday 25 July.  She spent most of her time at the L4R stall, together with other L4R volunteers. L4R was lucky to secure a stall at the last minute due to a cancellation by another group. The CEO of the Chifley Research Centre Emma Dawson, kindly offered the stall to L4R. Two L4R members, Nasrin Azzizi and Lynne Murphy staffed the stall over the two and a half days together with Nizza. We are very grateful for all the time they dedicated. L to R:  Nizza Siano, Peter Lynch, Nasrin Azizi, Lynne Murphy at the L4R stall ALP National Conference 2026. The stall was a great opportunity to promote L4R and a total of 19 ALP members from a number of states, applied to join and become members of L4R.  Five of them were from NSW/ACT.  We look forward to seeing these new members at our meetings.  The Secretary encouraged the new members from SA, to start a L4R group in their own state. Many connections were made with supporters.  Some were MPs who volunteered to provide support for a new group in their state. Nizza Siano and L4R National Co-Convenor Peter Lynch, represented L4R at the Conference.  Peter, who was a Proxy Delegate from Victoria, had ongoing discussions with Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill, on the sidelines of the Conference re the Platform amendments we had submitted to the Conference.  We had also submitted a Special Resolution about the humanitarian refugee intake numbers. This Resolution was reproduced in our last L4R newsletter. Our L4R national group (NCC) had decided to withdraw our proposed Platform amendments after meeting with the Senior Advisers to both Tony Burke and Julian Hill, the week prior to Conference as it was apparent that these amendments would not get up.  However, we decided to leave it until the last day before withdrawing them.   A Win  On the evening prior to Chapter 7 being debated on Day 3 of the conference, Julian Hill agreed to convert our Special Resolution (which Peter planned to speak to on the floor of Conference on Saturday morning), to a Platform Amendment.  This was good news and a positive outcome because at one stage, after meeting with Minister Burke late last year, we were concerned that the Government would drop this clause from the Platform, due to budgetary considerations and because Labor did not want to be targeted by the Right re the number of refugee intake. Peter spoke eloquently to our amendment on Saturday morning.  The speech follows – Speech on behalf of L4R delivered by Peter Lynch on Saturday 25 July 2026 in favour of amending the ALP National Platform to maintain Australia’s Humanitarian and Refugee Intake at 20,000 per year in the short term, whilst still aspiring to achieve 27,000 places per year   “Delegates: Australia is a successful multicultural country – as our Platform states – a “Nation built on Migration”.   We should be proud that this includes the now just over a million refugees who have joined us since WW2 have come to Australia through the refugee & humanitarian program.   Refugees are particularly well represented amongst the migrants who have helped shape modern Australia.   Australians who were refugees are statistically more likely to start a small business, work in the care economy or doing hard agricultural jobs than those of other backgrounds.   118 million people worldwide are currently displaced – meaning the need for resettlement has never been greater.   But in the past year the number of refugees resettled globally has actually dropped by more than a half to just 81,000 in 2025.   This drop means that even with an intake of 20,000 per year Australia is one of the world’s leading resettlement countries.   Thus, Australia’s contribution to refugee resettlement is more significant and more important than ever before.   We congratulate the Albanese Labor Government on lifting the humanitarian intake from the 13,500 places per year under the former Coalition government to 20,000 places per year which has been maintained for the four years since coming to government in 2022.   Despite the noise from some on the political Right, there is every indication that most of the population strongly support the Refugee humanitarian program. There are hundreds of refugee support groups around the country, and thousands participate in refugee community support programs like CRISP (Community Refugee and Integration Program) – especially in rural & regional areas.   Labor for Refugees understands the budgetary and other pressures the Government is under in relation to this program. The demand is high. Clearly there are limits to how much can be done. But delegates, this is not a big fiscal program!   $910 million has been allocated in the Budget for this program for 26/27 financial year – although actual 25/26 financial year spending was $1.1billion.   We’ve noted the forward projections in the Budget papers.   In the coming months the government will decide on the size of the program from July 2027. We understand there are pressures to reduce the intake back to the Coalition levels of 13,500 per year.   In the face of huge global need, maintaining the humanitarian intake at 20,000 places per year in the short term, whilst working towards the aspiration of 27,000 per year, will mean we will continue to enjoy the contributions to the nation of the diverse range of refugees who have joined us since 1947.   By doing this, Labor in government will not only enhance us domestically, but also will maintain Australia’s role as one of the great resettlement countries in a troubled and changing world.     Delegates, I commend the amendment to the Conference for endorsement.”         Secretary, Nizza Siano would like to thank Peter for all the hard work he did in negotiating with Julian Hill, right throughout the Conference up to the night before Platform 7 was debated. The Amendment which was adopted by Conference Delegates, follows:  Urgent follow-up action  Australia’s migration and refugee protection system is facing significant proposed changes that could have serious consequences for refugees, people seeking asylum and migrant families. The Federal Government has proposed several sweeping changes to the migration system. These changes include removing work rights for people seeking asylum, limiting appeal rights in refugee protection cases, increasing visa charges and creating additional barriers to family reunification. These changes risk pushing people into poverty, increasing vulnerability to exploitation, separating families for longer periods, and weakening fundamental safeguards within Australia’s migration system. Australia needs a migration and refugee protection system that is fair, effective and well-managed. We can address delays and backlogs without removing people’s rights, forcing people into poverty or creating additional barriers for families trying to reunite.  CAMPAIGN ON HUMANITARIAN REFUGEE NUMBERS In these uncertain and fraught political times, Labor for Refugees wants to ensure that our hard fought for and won amendment at the National Conference, which commits to maintaining Australia’s Humanitarian and Refugee intake at 20,000 per year in the short term, whilst still aspiring to achieve 27,000 places per year, will be honoured. We therefore ask for your support to contact your local MP and Senators and also send a letter to the Minister for Home Affairs, Immigration and Multiculturalism Affairs Tony Burke at Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au and Assistant Minister for Multiculturalism Affairs Julian Hill at julian.hill.mp@aph.gov.au  urging them to honour this commitment in Labor’s National Platform.   Ask them to provide an assurance that the Humanitarian visa numbers in the Platform remain untouched and that the number of family reunions are also not reduced.  Find your nearest Labor MP or Senator here. Thank you for your support. Living Conditions for Detainees in the Regional Processing Centre in Nauru  1.      The Senate Committee Inquiry into Offshore processing and resettlement arrangements report was released on the 2 July 2026. To quote the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre –  “For more than a decade, people who survived the Australian Government’s offshore detention regime have been waiting for justice and certainty. A report released by the Senate was an opportunity to finally deliver that – instead, it fell far short”.It goes on to say –“After hearing evidence from people who survived offshore detention and whistle-blowers who witnessed it first-hand, you’d expect the report to confront the devastating harm caused by this policy.Instead, it barely does. In fact, the word “harm” appears just once in the Committee’s official report, and only when referring to harm to Australia’s international relationships.It says almost nothing about the lasting harm inflicted on the people Australia sent to its brutal offshore processing centres.That matters because people remain trapped in PNG and Nauru, and more than 700 people evacuated from offshore detention are still living with its consequences in Australia today.Many have spent more than a decade rebuilding their lives in Australia. They’ve become part of our communities, working, studying and raising families. For them, Australia is the only home they’ve ever known.Many are still trapped on short-term Exit Visas. Instead of being able to rebuild their lives, they’re repeatedly forced to reapply just to stay in Australia, living with the constant fear that they could be told to leave. No one can truly rebuild their life while living with that uncertainty”.  We say this was a lost opportunity.”  At our last L4R meeting,  it was decided to write to Tony Burke, copied to Pat Conroy, Penny Wong, Matt Thistlethwaite and Julian Hill, outlining the dreadful conditions being experienced by the detainees in the Regional Processing Centre in Nauru and referred them to the ASRC Report on hunger among the detainees as well as the huge costs to taxpayer.  We also wanted to ask the Australian Government,  if people are still starving, how our taxpayer’s money being allocated?  The link to our letter follows L4RletterNauruLivingConditions7Aug26 I look forward to seeing you at our meeting next Wednesday evening. RegardsNizza Siano Secretary L4R NSW/ACT email:  contact@labor4refugees.com

 

 

Dear friends

You will have seen updates from us over the past week about the migration changes the Albanese Government is considering and our concerns about what they could mean for people seeking asylum.

As part of our response, more than 160 organisations and groups have now signed a joint letter calling on the Government not to proceed with changes that would take away work rights, weaken appeal rights or make it harder for families to stay together.

This morning, we publicly launched the letter and issued a media release sounding the alarm about what these changes could mean for people seeking asylum and the organisations and communities that support them.

You can read and share the media release here:
More than 160 organisations sound the alarm on proposed migration changes

Now is the time to turn up the pressure.

After weeks of uncertainty, the Financial Review is reporting that Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is expected to announce Labor’s proposed migration changes this week. That means we could have only days left to influence what the Government ultimately decides to do.

There are signs that pressure is having an impact, but we have not won yet. We need to work together now to stop the worst of these changes from being implemented.

Whether or not your organisation was able to sign the joint letter, there are two important things you can do right now:

1. Contact Labor MPs and Senators. If your organisation has relationships with MPs, Ministers, advisers or Labor offices, please use them now. Call, email or request a meeting. Make clear your opposition to removing work rights and weakening appeal rights, and explain what these changes would mean for the people and communities you work with.
2. Help build public pressure. Please share the joint letter and media release across your social media channels and encourage your networks to speak up. We’ve attached unbranded social media tiles that any organisation is welcome to use and share through your own channels.

More than 160 organisations coming together has already demonstrated the breadth of concern about the changes being considered. Now we need to make sure the Albanese Government hears that message everywhere.

The more of us speaking up at the same time, both publicly and directly to the Albanese Government, the stronger that message will be.

Thank you for everything you can do over the coming days.

Please feel free to reach out if there is anything else the ASRC can do to support your advocacy.

Talk soon

Ogy

—

Ogy Simic (he/him)

Head of Refugee Leadership, Advocacy and Communication

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

214 – 218 Nicholson St, Footscray, VIC 3011

Wurundjeri Country

Mobile: 0402 651 002

Email: ogy.s@asrc.org.au