Adjournment speech, Tuesday 27 November 2012

For Tamils all around the world, including in Sri Lanka, 27 November marks a very important and hauntingly sad day. In Tamil the day is known as Maaveerar Naal.

Veerar means 'warrior' or 'hero'; Maa means 'great'; and Naal means 'day'.

It is a day on which millions of Tamils will remember the hundreds and thousands of brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children and the elderly who sacrificed their life in the 26-year-long struggle for their freedom.

Australian Greens housing spokesperson Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam will welcome Swags For The Homeless founder Tony Clark at Parliament House today, and urge the Government and Opposition to embrace major reforms to tackle long-term homelessness so that emergency interventions are not necessary in the future.

After sustained pressure from the Greens and advocacy groups, Minster Bowen has hinted he may not follow through with plans to stop refugees from working in Australia but a lack of actual policy means people are still being left in the dark.

 “After flip-flopping back and forth on whether refugees will be allowed to work in Australia, the Government needs to come clean on what its policy actually looks like,” the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The tenor of debate surrounding refugee policy has become so toxic and so negative that it is trashing the very values of a fair go that Australians hold dear, the Greens said today.

“I moved a motion in the Senate today to urge MPs not to incorrectly use the term ‘illegal’ when referring to people who are seeking asylum in Australia and I was heartened to see that it was upheld,” the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said after the vote.

As we hear news of another refugee boat tragedy, it is clearly time to change the tenor of debate over immigration policy in our country the Australian Greens said today.

"It's time for Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott to stop using refugees in their ugly political fight and trading sound bites for these vulnerable people's lives," the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

 

A chorus of health industry bodies and human rights experts have supported the Greens move to establish an independent healthcare oversight panel at a hearing today.

“The overwhelming support that we have heard today for our healthcare oversight panel shows just how concerning the Government’s treatment of refugees really is,” the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Greens have express dismay at new lows in the tenor of debate regarding immigration policy in Australia.

“Labor and the Collation are locked in a race to the bottom, trying to outdo each other on who can be the harshest to refugees in a bid to win cheap votes,” the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens have introduced a bill today to create a special visa class to bring Afghan interpreters, who have worked with our troops in their home country, to Australia.

 "Recognising the amazing work of Afghan interpreters who risk their lives to keep our troops safe is the only right thing for us to do,” the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.