Scott Morrison to seek to reintroduce Temporary Protection Visas for refugees

Updated

The Federal Government will seek to restore Temporary Protection Visas for refugees after the High Court rejected its current policy of restricting the number of permanent visas available.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison capped the number of permanent visas at 2,773 per year after the Senate blocked the Government's attempts to re-introduce TPVs.

Mr Morrison says the Government will again seek to re-introduce the Howard-era TPVs because it is what the public wants.

"The High Court decision was not unexpected and the contingencies have been in place to deal with the next phase," he said.

"The easiest way for this to be done is for the Greens and Labor to stop blocking the mandate that this Government received at the last election and to support the Temporary Protection Visas that Australians voted for."

The move will have to pass a new-look Senate, with the balance of power in the Upper House set to change next month.

TPVs allow refugees to stay in Australia for three years before facing a review of their refugee status.

The Greens and refugee advocacy groups argue against TPVs, saying the uncertainty associated with temporary visas can contribute to ongoing mental health problems.

The High Court ruling followed separate applications to the court from two asylum seekers - an Ethiopian boy and a Pakistani man - who were found to be refugees but denied visas because of the cap.

It found the Minister did not have the power to limit the number of visas issued within a specific financial year, and ordered Mr Morrison reconsider the asylum seekers' applications for protection.

Mr Morrison says the Government can do that while maintaining its policy stance, but he is refusing to say how.

"The Australian Government's policy has not changed. No-one who has come illegally to Australia by boat will get a permanent visa from this Government," he said.

Melbourne rally calls for end to offshore processing

Meanwhile, about 1,000 people gathered in Melbourne's CBD on Sunday to protest against Australia's treatment of asylum seekers and to call for an end to offshore processing.

Protesters carried signs with pictures of Leo Semanpillai, a Tamil asylum seeker on a bridging visa, who died of self-inflicted burns earlier this month.

The protesters marched through the city centre chanting: "We won't stop until we free refugees."

Refugee advocate and nun Brigid Arthur told the crowd that Australia's policies amounted to torture.

"When a nation determines it is acceptable for children to be incarcerated, then that nation needs to start questioning what it means," she said.

Mr Morrison told Parliament earlier this month that the number of children in detention was fewer than 1,000 and had fallen by a third since the election.

Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt called for faster processing of asylum seeker claims.

"Lets process people's claims efficiently, quickly and fairly," he said.

"Instead of locking people up in island prisons, where it seems that under this Government's watch someone can be beaten to death with impunity, let's welcome people into the community and process them here."

Topics: refugees, immigration, community-and-society, federal-government, government-and-politics, australia

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