By Cam Lucadou-Wells
The Federal Government still plans to place temporary protection visa holders on more secure visas, but there’s “no timeline”, says Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil.
Ahead of the May Federal election, Labor opposed temporary protection visas in favour of permanent protection visas for asylum seekers.
Some have languished on TPVs for more than a decade. They are required to reapply for TPVs every three years, with no rights for family reunion or overseas travel.
At the launch of a youth-engagement program in Hampton Park on 10 August, Ms O’Neil said the election promise to abolish TPVs was still “Labor policy”.
She confirmed that the abolition of the Temporary Protection Visa program would still happen at some stage.
“We’ve only been in Government for nine weeks.”
Dandenong-based refugee advocate Wicki Wickramasingham said long-suffering asylum seekers in the South East were both pleased and frustrated by the recent exemption given to the ‘Biloela’ Tamil family.
After four years fighting against deportation, the family of four were granted permanent visas by the Federal Government earlier this month.
But meanwhile more than 1200 asylum seekers in the South East are waiting for the same, Mr Wickramasingham said.
“Most of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers are also Tamils, some of them have been here for 15 years.
“They are asking me what about our families from Sri Lanka that haven’t been able to visit us for all this time?
“The Government hard-line is still there.”
