Changes to temporary protection visas are a welcome development – and they won’t encourage people smugglers

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 14:34:26 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/changes-to-temporary-protection-visas-are-a-welcome-development-and-they-wont-encourage-people-smugglers-199763>

"Refugees in Australia on temporary protection visas (TPVs) and Safe Haven
Enterprise Visas (SHEVs) now have a pathway to permanent protection, the
federal government has confirmed today.

The long-awaited changes will bring much-needed certainty to around 20,000
people who arrived in Australia before January 1 2014, and who were found to be
refugees or at risk of serious human rights violations.

These people have endured years in limbo under a policy that research has shown
to be unfair, expensive, impractical, and inconsistent with our international
obligations.

Temporary protection not only inflicts significant mental harm on asylum
seekers, but also created a costly bureaucratic burden for the government. It’s
also out of step with the practice of other countries, where temporary
protection is reserved for exceptional circumstances.

The changes are a welcome development for people who have lived with
uncertainty for a decade, providing them with an opportunity to rebuild their
lives with a sense of security. The decision is also highly unlikely to
encourage asylum seekers to try to reach Australia by boat.

Yet, the fate of thousands of other refugees and asylum seekers in limbo in
Australia remains uncertain."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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