A welcome Budget for refugees

13 May 2008

A welcome Budget for refugees

A Just Australia, a national refugee policy group, has today welcomed the Rudd Government budget announcements for refugees and asylum seekers.

The announcement that Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) will be scrapped will have a profound positive effect on many traumatised refugees living in our community.

"For too long these proven refugees have been living under the harsh policies of the previous Government, kept excluded from the Australian community and barred from family reunion. With this change to abolish TPVs, refugees can start to put their past behind them and build positive futures as permanent members of the Australian community. We applaud this move by the Government to live up to their promises." said National Coordinator, Kate Gauthier

Detention is another spending area flagged by the Budget, without some funding for improving detention centres. But those improvements are much-needed, it doesn't tackle the real spending issue which is the current rate of the use of detention.

"Conditions at Villawood detention centre are deplorable. But improving detention conditions without assessing who needs to be in detention in the first place is like offering a makeover to a victim of domestic violence. It is just about appearances and doesn't provide long term solutions or protection." said National Coordinator, Kate Gauthier

"Detention is incredibly costly, particularly when so many people shouldn't be detained at all. Prior to the 2007 election, the ALP promised that detention would only be for necessary health and security checks and would never be indefinite. It is time they lived up to those promises by putting time limits on detention and investing money from the Budget in the cheaper alternatives to prolonged detention instead of throwing good money after bad by upgrading detention centres."