Motion: Commitment to Refugees

Samantha Ratnam

Leader of the Victorian Greens

22 December 2022

On the final day of Parliament for 2022, I moved a motion to reaffirm the Victorian Parliament's support for all people seeking asylum and refuge in Australia.

That this house:

1. Recognises the right of all people to seek asylum from persecution;
2. Notes that as a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Australia has an obligation to ensure refugees are not returned to countries where they may face persecution, torture or death;
3. Acknowledges that refugees fleeing to Australia have faced harsh and punitive treatment as a result of decades of cruel asylum seeker policies;
4. Notes that despite the federal Labor government’s commitment to reform temporary protection visas:
   1. thousands of people seeking asylum and refuge remain on temporary visas unable to begin rebuilding their lives; and 
   2. hundreds of asylum seekers who were brought to the mainland for medical treatment have received letters from the Department of Home Affairs informing them that they would not be allowed to settle in Australia and instructing them to return to their home country or seek settlement elsewhere; 
5. Reaffirms this chamber’s support for all refugees and asylum seekers 
6. Calls on the Federal Government to grant permanent protection to people seeking asylum and refuge in Australia. 

Watch the YouTube video here.