The Albanian government plans to combine a trio of migration policies that would help it deport thousands of non-citizens, with advocates labeling the changes as “brutal.”
The series of measures would expand the government's powers, impose Trump-style travel bans, allow the deportation of non-citizens to third countries and roll back refugee protections.
The changes to the Migration Act will be presented to the Senate on Wednesday and are expected to be adopted after Labor reaches an agreement with the coalition.
Advocates have warned the changes will have devastating consequences for refugees and people seeking protection in Australia, and raised concerns about human rights.
Here's an overview of the bills and why there are warnings against the changes:
Third countries pay to take in our deportees
First, there is the Migration Act, which will strengthen the government's ability to remove non-citizens and make deals with third countries by paying them to take in deportees.
There are concerns about the lack of protection for people who have fled their countries and taken refuge in Australia, without any guarantee of safety or that they will not be prosecuted if sent to third countries.
The measure could be applied to a broad group of people. Taking into account those on bridging visas, in immigration or community detention, as well as those on bridging visas as many as 80,000 are susceptible to removal.
The bill was introduced by Home Secretary Tony Burke on November 7, a day after the Supreme Court ruled it unlawful to force former immigration detainees to wear ankle bracelets and adhere to curfews in the YBFZ case.
It will allow the government to reimpose supervision conditions where they deem a non-citizen to pose a risk to the community.
It also absolves the government from legal action for negligent decisions, making it immune from civil lawsuits related to a person's removal or treatment in a third country.
Granting powers to the minister to remove non-citizens or risk imprisonment
In March, Labor introduced the Removal Amendment, which would give the Immigration Minister the power to order a non-citizen to take specific actions or face deportation under a “removal process”.
If someone does not comply with this order, they risk a prison sentence of a minimum of twelve months and a maximum of five years.
The laws would also allow the government to designate a “country of concern for removal,” essentially imposing a Trump-style travel ban in an effort to pressure governments to accept back their citizens.
Once the country has been designated, there is a total ban on visa applications from that country, with a few exceptions. Migrant communities fear discrimination and being cut off from friends and family as a result.
Phones should be confiscated and surveillance strengthened
Last Thursday, Labor introduced the Banned Items Bill, which will allow officers to seize items they deem dangerous, such as mobile phones, from people in immigration detention.
Burke said: “There have been incidents of criminals in detention centers using encrypted messaging services to carry out drug trafficking and other organized crime activities.”
Advocates have warned that phones often record real-life conditions in detention and that the measure could cut off vital lines of communication and increase surveillance.
The bill includes a guarantee that those in custody should be provided with “alternative means of communication” to obtain legal advice or contact family.
It is a revival of a 2020 coalition bill that was voted down by Labor in the lower house and has support from the opposition.
What are the criticisms?
Josephine Langbian, associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, described the measures as the “most cruel migration laws we have ever seen”.
“They will have devastating consequences for the lives of thousands of people… Families will be torn apart,” she told SBS News.
“We could see children being shipped to third countries. We could see parents being forced to leave their children behind. We could see people being denied the opportunity for the rest of their lives to return to Australia and start their lives again.” to build.”
She said it was “frightening” that the government had not announced the targeted countries for the travel bans.
“So tomorrow it could be that the government is planning to attack Iran or Afghanistan. Next month it could be India or Pakistan. We just don't know, and that is one of the most dangerous aspects of this potential power,” says Langbian . said.
Advocates have spoken out against the measures' punitive approach, flagged human rights concerns, called for further investigation and warned against blanket assumptions about entire communities.
Paul Power, chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia, said the government's “hasty and reckless approach is alarming”.
“These are some of the most damaging and extreme bills we have seen in more than a decade, and the speed at which they are being pushed through makes it all the more shocking,” he said.
The coalition provided amendments in exchange for support
The three amendments to the migration law are expected to be passed by the Senate, with the support of the coalition, after obtaining several commitments from the government.
This includes changes to travel bans, with the government agreeing that the minister should specify a list of reasons why a deportation country is designated and review its status after three years.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the coalition had “negotiated in good faith with the government” to ensure the safety of Australians.
“[We] will not allow their mess and incompetence when it comes to community safety and national security to cause any more harm to the Australian public than it has already done,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The Opposition also urged the government to implement three recommendations from last year's Rapid Review into the operation of Australia's visa system, authored by former Victoria Police chief Christine Nixon.
Home Secretary Tony Burke has been working in the background to secure a deal with the coalition, which includes Opposition Immigration Minister Dan Tehan. Source: MONKEY / Mick Tsikas
The migration crackdown does not have the support of the Greens, with Senator David Shoebridge labeling the package as the “most extreme” laws since “the White Australia Policy was abolished in the 1970s”.
“Labor is proposing that they can do a deal with any country in the world regardless of their human rights record, such as Nauru or PNG Cambodia. They could even choose Iran,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“And they will say that if people don't voluntarily deport themselves to one of these countries where they have no rights, they could face indefinite detention, indefinite prison sentence, regardless of whether they have children in the country … [or are] legitimate asylum seekers.”
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