17 September 2026
Our next L4R meeting will be held on Wednesday 23 September at 6.30pm
Minutes of our August meeting follow: L4RNSW-ACTMinMtg26Aug26
| Australia’s migration and refugee protection system Australia’s migration and refugee protection system has been facing significant proposed changes that would have serious consequences for refugees, people seeking asylum and migrant families. It’s been under attack by conservative/right-wing forces who are using migrants and refugees as scapegoats for the hardship being experienced by Australians, including the housing shortage. The policies announced by One Nation and the Coalition have consequences. Some of these announcements will be impossible to implement. Words are cheap and it’s a whole different story to come up with ways of implementing these policies without hurting refugees and damaging our society. The Federal Government has today, also proposed several sweeping changes to the migration system. As we stated in our last newsletter, 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. What the Government announced today It will take time for all of us to fully process the implications of the changes to the Government’s migration policies, which were announced today by Immigration Minister Tony Burke. The following summary has been provided by SBS News. Tony Burke unveils major migration changes to tighten Australia’s visa system — as it happened Tougher visa rules, lower migration and a focus on skilled workers underpin the government’s new plan. These are the major points from his speech:The suite of measures includes removing unlawful non-citizens, cracking down on “visa-hopping” and “rogue migration agents”, introducing a ballot system for second- and third-year backpackers, restricting family applicants for most student visas, and prioritising processing for key sectors, such as healthcare, construction and education. The measures aim to reduce Australia’s net overseas migration (NOM) figure to 245,000 this financial year, and 225,000 in 2027-28. The NOM in the year to March this year was 292,000.Burke addressed “absurd” migration claims, saying Australia was not experiencing “mass migration”. He also rubbished claims that the government had been letting in yoga teachers over construction workers.He said the housing crisis was not caused by immigration, but immigration could be part of the solution. Construction workers will earn more points under the skilled migration pathway to boost housing construction in Australia. He acknowledged visa-hopping was a “genuine problem”, with the government to introduce a qualification scale. It means a bachelor’s degree student will only be able to move “up the scale” to a master’s degree. Processing of working holiday visa applications has slowed. Faster processing times will be restored for those in their second or third year who are required to work regionally. A “no further stay” provision will be applied to visitor visas, only applying to future visas.There will be tougher sanctions for visa overstayers. The government will return to a pre-2015 model in which visa overstayers will be detained. An additional 100 compliance officer roles and 250 beds will be made available. The government will also consider repurposing a former quarantine facility in Melbourne. Burke rubbished reports that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese didn’t want him to give the speech at the NPC. He said One Nation and the Coalition’s plans to cut migration would “trash the Australian economy”. Labor for Refugees has a scheduled meeting next week with Tony Burke’s Senior Adviser. We plan to discuss the implications of these migration policies on refugees, as well as raising issues relating to letters we’d already sent to the Minister. Conditions for Detainees in the Regional Processing Centre in Naoero (Nauru) PEOPLE REMAIN TRAPPED IN NAERO L4R wrote to Tony Burke in August this year, 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 Naoero and referred them to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre 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 is Australian taxpayer’s money being allocated? The link to our letter follows L4RletterNauruLivingConditions7Aug26 We have not yet received a response. Naoero Campaign We are now asking our members to support our campaign and urge the Government to address the suffering of refugees trapped on Naoera. We have drafted the following motion. Please move it at your next branch/sub-branch meeting. “To address the urgent situation on the island Republic of Naoero (formerly Nauru), ………….. Branch/Sub-Branch demands:an immediate increase in the living allowance provided to asylum seekers;the immediate transfer of all refugees and people seeking asylum from Naoero to Australia;the end of the offshore detention of asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat.” Background This branch notes: (i) asylum seekers and refugees sent to Naoero are enduring intolerable living conditions including electricity blackouts, contaminated water and water shortages, as well as persistent hunger with many asylum seekers unable to afford to buy sufficient food and are surviving on one meal a day. (ii) there are growing mental and physical health problems tragically similar to those that have caused such serious problems endured by previous groups of asylum seekers sent to Naoero; (iii) Muslim asylum seekers and refugees are not allowed to publicly practise their religion; (iv) the indefinite offshore detention on Naoero represents a fundamental denial of asylum seekers’ human rights and a failure by Australia to uphold the right of asylum seekers to seek protection in Australia and there are no enduring solutions on Naoero and no third country resettlement arrangements. (v) In 2025, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that Australia is responsible for the arbitrary detention of asylum seekers redirected or transferred to offshore detention facilities in the Republic of Naoero. (https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/01/australia-responsible-arbitrary-detention-asylum-seekers-offshore-facilities) (vi) Labor does not need to pay Naoero a fortune to process asylum seekers. Australia has its own processes it already uses to ensure people genuinely in need of protection from war and persecution are provided with safe legitimate pathways to safety. It is more cost effective than paying Naoero, consistent with Labor values and removes them from the hardship they are experiencing on Naoero. Administrative and Judicial Review Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 In early September, Labor for Refugees became aware of the progression of the abovenamed Bill being in its late stages, so decided to send an urgent letter to the Attorney-General. This Bill had a very tight inquiry timeframe and we were not made aware of it. We are very concerned that it has the potential to adversely impact on vulnerable non English speaking people seeking migration and protection application reviews. We recommended to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, that the provisions of the Amendment Bill should be withdrawn as we believe they contravene principles of natural justice. Our letter follows L4RtoAtt-GenARTAmendBill7Sep26 I look forward to seeing you at our meeting next Wednesday evening.RegardsNizza Siano Secretary L4R NSW/ACT email: contact@labor4refugees.com |
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