I'm not going to mince my words here tonight. The treatment of Priya, Nades, Tharnicaa and Kopika has been nothing short of depraved A three-year-old child—who just turned four, actually, on the weekend—is in hospital because of a life-threatening blood infection. It should never have come to this. Her parents repeatedly asked for her to be taken to the hospital, to be told 'no', 'no', 'no'—over and over.

The Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt, has announced the Greens will move in the Senate next week for the Government to revoke its direction under the Biosecurity Act to ban and put in place criminal penalties on Australians and residents returning home from India.

“The ban is racist, it’s possibly illegal, it’s not based on health advice and it must be rescinded immediately.  The Greens will move in the Senate next week to overturn the ban and we believe it will have widespread support amongst Senators.”

Refugees that the Australian Government exiled to Papua New Guinea contracting COVID should prompt their immediate evacuation to Australia, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.

“For years, Labor and Liberal Governments have deliberately withheld adequate medical treatment from people in their care,” Senator McKim said.

“The refugees who have contracted COVID need to be medevacced to Australia, and all other refugees in PNG need to be brought to Australia to prevent them contracting the illness.”

The Greens have welcomed the decision of the Federal Court that Biloela's Tamil family was denied procedural fairness, calling for them to be released and free to return home.

Lines from Greens Immigration Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim:

The overdue release of dozens of refugees from immigration detention is a very welcome glimmer of humanity in Australia’s refugee policy, Greens Immigration Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim says.

“These men have been through so much for so long, and for them now to be able to breathe free air is a wonderful step forward for them,” Senator McKim said. 

“There are still over 150 people who suffered through years of offshore detention detained in Australia. They should also be immediately released.”

I'd like to inform the chamber that Senator McKim will be co-sponsoring this motion with me. I, and also on behalf of Senator McKim, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 2020 has been an incredibly tough year for temporary visa holders in Australia, including migrant workers and international students,

(ii) according to the Migrant Worker Justice Initiative, 70% of temporary visa holders lost their jobs or most of their hours after the pandemic hit in March,

Cutting 20,000 places from Australia's humanitarian intake is cruel and unnecessary, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.

"The Liberals' decision to reduce Australia's humanitarian intake from 18,750 to 13,750 for the next four years is devastating to displaced people around the world and the millions of Australians who want a compassionate refugee policy," Senator McKim said.

"That is 20,000 men, women and children who will remain displaced because of deliberate decisions taken by this Government."