Since coming to office, the Rudd Labor Government has brought an end to the shameful Pacific Solution by closing the centres on Nauru and Manu Island, and by resettling in Australian those people who in some cases had been languishing there for years.
Labor resettled 82 refugees detained on Nauru, transferring the last of the refugees detained at the Offshore Processing Centre on 8 February 2008.
The Rudd Government pledged to dismantle the Pacific solution and Labor has moved quickly on that front.
The Pacific solution was a cynical, costly and ultimately unsuccessful exercise introduced on the eve of a Federal election by the Howard government.
The bulk of the refugees housed on Nauru and Manus had fled Iraq and Afghanistan- two countries where Australia still has troops committed.
In July 2008 Labor announced a suite of reforms to Australia’s immigration detention system to make detention in Immigration Detention Centres only used as a last resort and for the shortest practical time.
Labor ‘s position, is that a person who poses no danger to the community will be able to remain in the community while their visa status is resolved.
Under the Howard government, persons who were unlawful could be detained for years even though they posed no health or security risk to the community.
Under Labor the Department has to justify why a person should be detained and once in detention a detainee’s case is reviewed every three months to ensure that the further detention of the individual is justified.
Under Labor children are not detained in an immigration centre.
Labor has also abolished the unjust Temporary Protection visa, thus enabling 1000 refugees to access permanent residence to rebuild their lives in Australia and reunite with separated immediate family members.
Labor Government made a priority to improve the integrity of the 457 visa and restore public confidence in the program after the abuses the Howard government allowed, including the exploitation of overseas workers and the undermining of local wages and conditions.
2008 Federal Budget included a number of immediate measures to address these concerns, including an increase to the minimum salary level for the first time in 2 years, the passage of legislation to enhance monitoring and sanction powers and funding for increased compliance activity.
Other measure announce in April 2009, include the indexation of the minimum salary level for all new and existing 457 visa holders to ensure that wages of overseas workers keep pace with local wages, increasing the existing minimum language requirement for 457 visa holder from September 2009 to address concerns about the exploitation of workers form non-English speaking countries, introducing a requirement that employers seeking access to the 457 visa program have a strong record of, or demonstrated commitment to, employing local labour and non discriminatory employment practices.
The Rudd Government overhauled the Australian Citizenship Test, focusing the test on the Pledge of Commitment than new Australians make when becoming citizens.
The Government developed a citizenship course based on the material in the revamped resource book to help disadvantaged migrants and refugees who understand English but whose level of literacy may prevent them from undertaking a computer-based test.
Labor’s position is not soft on immigration, Labor is compassionate.
Maintenance of the integrity of our borders is critical and will continue to be a priority under Labor, however it is important that Australians understand that this has little to do with how we then treat people once they’re here.
