Refugee Council urges Senate to reject trio of brutal Bills threatening refugees

26 November 2024

The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) is urgently calling on the Senate to reject the Government’s trio of brutal Bills, which are expected to be debated tomorrow (27 Nov). These bills will have devastating consequences for refugees, migrants and people seeking protection in Australia. 

RCOA gave testimony last week at the hastily convened Senate Inquiry into the Migration Amendment Bill, legislation which would give the Federal Government the power to pay third countries to accept non-citizens — including recognised refugees with Australian citizen family members — without any safeguards to prevent harm, detention or their return to persecution. The Senate Committee is only reporting its findings today, with little time for Senators to consider the wide-ranging, still to be revealed impacts of the legislation. This Bill is a direct threat to recognised refugees, leaving them at risk of being sent to undisclosed countries without any guarantee of safety, and provisions in the legislation would absolve the Australian Government from all accountability mechanisms for harm caused to people sent offshore. 

The second bill, the Removal Bill, introduced by the Albanese Government in March but later abandoned due to lack of support in Parliament and outcry over its draconian measures, would force people to facilitate their own deportation — or face the possibility of one to five years in prison. RCOA expressed our grave concerns when this Bill was first introduced, highlighting the risks of giving the Minister unchecked powers to return people to countries where they face persecution or death, including the power to reverse refugees’ protection findings. Multicultural communities and the Federal Opposition were among many who raised concerns about the legislation enabling the Minister to apply bans at will on citizens of some countries in an effort to pressure their governments into accepting forced returns. 

The third of these brutal Bills is the Prohibited Items Bill, which aims to further restrict the rights of people already detained in Australia’s harsh immigration detention system. This legislation would allow authorities to seize communication items, including mobile phones, preventing people from communicating with their families, lawyers and the outside world. These measures would isolate people, could silence legitimate scrutiny and is nearly identical to legislation the Labor Party opposed in 2020 proposed by the then Coalition Government.  RCOA CEO Paul Power says these brutal Bills are being rushed through with no thought to the disastrous impact they would have on tens of thousands of people across Australia.  

Parliamentarians have been given little time to fully consider the devastating, far-reaching consequences of these brutal Bills before being asked to vote on them. This rushed and reckless approach is alarming, especially when the implications are so dire. If passed, these bills could be life-threatening for people who desperately need our protection. These are some of the most harmful and extreme Bills we’ve seen in over a decade, and the speed with which they’re being pushed through makes it all the more shocking. These Bills do not reflect the values of fairness or compassion that Australia prides itself on. We urge the Senate to vote them down.

Print this