Recent history tells us that the worst abuses of the human rights of families that come to Australia seeking protection always start with Legislation passed by the Labor Party.  Think 1992 mandatory detention, or imposing the cost of detention on those detained, or finally the pronouncement that no one who comes by boat will ever settle in Australia; all these developments were executed by Labor.  The Migration Amendment Bill is an extraordinary abuse of the Refugee Convention and while it is difficult to imagine how much worse the Migration Amendment Bill could become if passed into law, recent  history tells us that we have not found the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the Othering and abuse of those who come to Australia seeking protection.

Watching the shambolic process of the Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (the Bill) as it moved through Parliament was both deeply disturbing and the end of hopes for better from the Albanese government. When former President Trump told former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull the Australian government was even worse than him when it came to the treatment of those people seeking protection, he was right. And anyone who thought a change a government would see a more competent, legal, or sustainable immigration policy has been bitterly disappointed by Labor’s response to the previous High Court decision. Read our submission to understand why this legislation is so offensive to the dignity of asylum seekers and what the Justice and Peace Office is calling for.