The Australian Government should immediately issue bridging visas to Afghan people in Afghanistan who have made substantive visa applications, the Greens say.

“The Government must expedite visas to give people at least a chance to leave Afghanistan and get to safety,” Greens Immigration and Citizenship spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“We understand that the situation around the Kabul Airport is extremely dangerous and unpredictable, and people may not be able to access flights.”

Greens senators Larissa Waters, Mehreen Faruqi and Janet Rice have written to the Minister for Women and Foreign Affairs Marise Payne to urge the Government to provide immediate and increased aid to help women and girls now subject to Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

To ensure that aid is targeted to those most in need the aid should be delivered through partnerships with civil society and aid organisations working on the ground.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s refusal to increase Australia’s humanitarian intake to respond to the Afghanistan crisis is an insult and a failure of leadership, the Greens say.

“Given Australia’s decades of interference in Afghanistan and our culpability for the current instability, today’s announcement is grossly inadequate and a complete failure of leadership,” Greens spokesperson for Immigration and Citizenship Nick McKim said.

The Greens have responded to reports the Australian Government will pause deportations to Afghanistan, saying it is not nearly enough given our culpability for the current crisis.

The Greens are calling on the federal government to provide 20,000 permanent protection visas, in addition to Australia’s annual humanitarian intake, for Afghan people with a well-founded fear of being persecuted by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Australian Government should provide immediate assistance to Afghan people both on the ground in Afghanistan and by providing protection here in Australia.

“Australia should immediately offer permanent protection visas for up to 20,000 people from Afghanistan who are at risk of persecution from the Taliban,” Greens Immigration and Citizenship spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“The Canadian government has recently announced that it will do this, and we should follow suit.”

Wednesday 9 Jun, 2021

Australian Greens Peace and Disarmament spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has called on the Morrison Government to commit to reverse the decision to close its embassy in Kabul after horrific new information was reported today about the nature of Australia's worst alleged war crime, known as the 'tractor job'.

Australian Greens Peace and Disarmament spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said Australia should never have got involved in the Afghanistan War and the decision today to follow the US lead, and return our 80 remaining troops by September, had come two decades too late.

"The Afghanistan War has been an absolute disaster," Senator Steele-John said, "Knowing what we know now, Australia never should have taken part."

"The complete lack of any overarching strategic objective from the very beginning meant that troops on the ground were left to their own devices. 

Australian Greens Peace spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has called for General's Campbell and Burr to resign to enable the recommendations of the Afghan Inquiry to be implemented free from any actual or perceived conflicts of interest, and facilitate ongoing investigations by the Australian Federal Police.

Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP, and Australian Greens Peace Spokesperson, Senator Jordon Steele-John, will in the next sitting week of Parliament move a bill to require Parliamentary approval before Australian troops are sent to war. 

The release of the Brereton Inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by Australian SAS soldiers shows the importance of accountability over the decision to both deploy troops and their actions while overseas, the Greens say.

Australian Greens Peace and Disarmament spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said there was no question now that Australian special forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan that are the result of a toxic warrior culture, facilitated by failures within the chain of command.

“The crimes outlined in the Brereton report - even in the limited detail we’ve been given so far - are horrendous and shameful,” Steele-John said.