In her speech to the House of Representatives Ms Vamvakinou pointed out that:
“Those people who have been determined to be refugees should be granted permanent protection rather than having to go through the traumatic and pointless process of re-establishing their status.”“The Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration have not understood the folly of their in-humane policy, the Governments changes only tinker at the edges, rather than address the problems at the core of the TPV system.” said Ms Vamvakinou.
“We in the Labor Party understand that the handling of TPVs needs significant attention, the proposed amendment will restore certainty and dignity to TPV holders. Labor’s position is borne from our commitment to ensure that we deal with this matter in a humane and decent way.” said Ms Vamvakinou.
“It is estimated that there are 113 TPV holders in the Calwell electorate, the third largest TPV population in Victoria. The Al-amel TPV association have been helping TPV holders in Calwell, the name of the association means hope – and Labor’s amendment provided the only hope for TPV holders. That’s why the Government should adopt this amendment as a matter of urgency.” said Ms Vamvakinou.
The amendment sought to ensure that decisions on permanent protection be determined within two years, in essence ending the problem of rolling an asylum seeker from one temporary VISA to a second temporary VISA. The amendment also sought to shift the onus onto the Government to establish why a VISA should not be granted. Unfortunately the Government voted to defeat the amendment, denying certainty for TPV holders.
