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TRANSCRIPT
As the war in the Middle East continues, the federal government has introduced a temporary ban on Iranian nationals holding a visitor visa from entering Australia for six months, starting from March 26.
The Department of Home Affairs says the conflict has increased the risk that some temporary visa holders may not be able to leave Australia when their visas expire.
In a statement, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says the ban will give the government time to assess the situation properly.
“There are many visitor visas which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now. Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the Government, not a random consequence of who had booked a holiday. The Australian Government is closely monitoring global developments and will adjust settings as required to ensure Australia’s migration system remains orderly, fair and sustainable.”
The ban was enabled by a new law that the parliament passed earlier in March.
The new law, proposed by the Albanese government, allows the Home Affairs Minister to introduce temporary ban on certain classes of temporary visa holders from entering Australia, in situations when there are events outside Australia that can increase a risk of these visa holders not leaving Australia when their visas are expired.
Jana Favero, deputy Chief Executive at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, has just spent two days with her team in Canberra to call for the federal government to grant refugees visas to long-waiting Iranian asylum seekers, after the government swiftly granted the Iranian women's football team refugee visas in March.
"And rather than choosing compassion and humanity, Tony Burke and Anthony Albanese have instead decided to choose cruelty and this heartless approach to people who are fleeing Iran. We announced our support for the war in Iran to free people, people from an oppressive regime. But while we are saying that we are supporting the freedom of people in Iran, we are now shutting the door on people from Iran coming to Australia and seeking asylum. It's shocking and it's heartbreaking."
Ms Favero says Australia has responded to previous humanitarian crises and global conflicts with initiatives that allow people to seek safe haven in Australia.
"In past time, for example, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the Australian government's advice was get out the hell you can, and we used visas such as the subclass 600 for people to get out, and now the very same visa is the one that we are restricting. So it's a totally different approach to what we have in other conflicts, and it will be disastrous for people who are fleeing from Iran."
There are other aspects of the law that concerns some legal experts.
Professor Daniel Ghezelbash, the Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at the University of New South Wales, says the law is not fair.
"I think it's important to point out that the government already had powers to cancel visas in circumstances where they thought people weren't genuine temporary entrance and intended to stay here. But importantly, that had to be done on an individual case by case basis, with an individual assessment of each case. And what this new law does, it allows the government to declare large cohorts, and it's very, very vague in terms of what those codes could be, was to be as broad as an entire nationality and suspend their visas without any individual assessment of that case. I don't think that is fair."
Professor Ghezelbash says the law and the new ban on Iranian visitor visa holders can sets a precedent in Australia's migration system.
"It brings just a level of arbitrariness in our decision making. And when someone goes through the process of applying for a visa, they pay their fees. They meet all the requirements of that visa. Often, they book in their travel, they pay for accommodation, they pay for their flights. And now this sends a signal that no none of that matters. At any moment the Australian Government can declare that you are unable to travel here, and I think that sets a precedent of arbitrariness and potential unfairness in our system."
Anna Boucher, associate professor of global migration at the University of Sydney, says the Australian government could enforce a temporary ban if there's a significant change in global events.
"It means that if there are global challenges like the war in Iran is proposing even someone who's been issued a visa might potentially have their visa removed or their entry delayed for a period of time. That is a significant change."
And that can happen in any conflict, including a potential war between China and Taiwan, for which the world has been on alert for some time now.
"When the Tiananmen Square massacre happened, there was a large group of Chinese students in Australia, and the Prime Minister at the time gave those students permanent residency on the basis of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and that was A that was a significant change to Australia's migration program. So I know that the this legislation also affects students. It's possible, we don't know yet what, how, how it will play out, but the powers in this amendment are broad. Maybe it would fit within the scope of this legislation."
