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This was published 7 years ago
Proposed refugee ban 'saddens' whistle blower, RAC Canberra vows to keep fighting
By Clare Sibthorpe
Jane would often envision the futures of the refugees she worked to protect on Nauru if they were to settle in Australia.
The Canberra-based whistleblower has joined condemnation of the Turnbull government's planned ban, which would prevent people held in offshore detention from July 19, 2013 who were re-settled in other countries from entering Australia - even for business, tourism or to see family.
Some of the 2500 protesters who rallied against offshore detention at Civic Square in October.Credit: Jay Cronan
"It saddens me to know that [if the bill passes] Australia will forever deprive itself of the resource and opportunity in the many talented, intelligent and thoughtful humans who are currently held in Nauru and Manus islands, either as residents, contributors to our society or even as tourists," Jane said.
"For me this is not about a nameless and faceless 2000-odd people, it's about the beautiful souls and faces with tired but heart-warming smiles I walked among, their hopes and dreams frozen in time, waiting on the humanity of Australia to prevail."
She said she felt a "stab of intangible grief and loss for those I'd come to know so well" when the government proposed "campaigns of cruelty and punishment against a select group of people."
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the measure was partly designed to stop refugees from marrying Australians and subsequently coming to the country on a partner visa, which he deemed "not acceptable".
The lifetime ban bill passed the House of Representatives 73-69 and will likely be voted by the Senate within the next fortnight.
But the government's hopes may be crushed by Labor, Greens and crossbench opposition.
This contrasts with the government's separate plan to resettle offshore detainees in the US, which has been welcomed by all sides of Australian politics - though it could be vetoed by the incoming Trump administration.
The Refugee Action Committee Canberra desperately hopes the refugee ban goes down in the Senate, calling it extreme, ill-conceived, cruel, horrible and bizarre.
RAC Canberra recently led a 2500-strong anti-offshore detention protest in Canberra, addressed by former ACT chief minister Jon Stanhope.
RAC Canberra spokeswoman Anne-Marie Delahunt said the group would continue to fight the government's "extremism" and members would keep pressuring Liberal MPs to back down.
"The Governor of South Australia, Hieu Van Le, is a refugee who came on a boat who has made outstanding contributors to this country," Ms Delahunt said.
"Honestly, do we want in 40 years time to have an equivalent person to him refused entry to Australia?"
ACT Labor Senator Katy Gallagher said the numbers would be "very tight".
Regardless of how the issue plays out federally, she said Canberra had always welcomed refugees and had confidence ACT Labor would continue to "lead the way in supporting additional refugees to make their home in Canberra".
In May, refugee advocates mobbed the offices of Senator Gallagher and ACT Liberal Senator Zed Seselja in a snap demonstration against offshore detention.
Senator Seselja did not respond directly to criticisms of the government's asylum seeker policies, instead saying that "Canberrans ... don't want to see chaos at our borders and deaths at sea".
He claimed the Labor Party held "absolute responsibility" for the detention of people in the offshore centres.
"Bill Shorten talks about people smuggling and the need for resettlement as though he and Labor have no responsibility for offshore processing and detention," he said.
"The only reason people are on Nauru and Manus is because of the Labor Government's negligent and dangerous policies."