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Australian senate backs migrant reforms Australian senate backs migrant reforms
(about 3 hours later)
The Australian senate has narrowly approved changes to migration laws that include reintroducing controversial temporary visas for refugees. The Australian senate has approved changes to immigration laws that include reintroducing controversial temporary visas for refugees.
The bill will allow refugees to live and work in Australia for three to five years. The bill will allow refugees to live and work in Australia for three to five years, but denies them permanent protection.
It was passed by 34 votes to 32 after intense and sometimes emotional debate in a late-night sitting. It was passed by 34 votes to 32 after intense debate in a late-night sitting.
Australia currently detains refugees caught arriving by boat and puts them in camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Australia currently detains all asylum seekers who arrive by boat, holding them in offshore processing camps.
The bill is expected to become law later on Friday when it is passed by the House of Representatives where the government has a majority. It says that those found to be refugees will not be permanently resettled in Australia, under tough new policies aimed at ending the flow of boats.
Some 30,000 asylum seekers have tried to reach Australia by boat since August 2012, but they have yet to have their claims assessed because the government does not want them to stay permanently. It also has a backlog of cases - about 30,000 - relating to asylum seekers who arrived before the current policies were put in place. Those people live in detention camps or in the community under bridging visas that do not allow them to work.
They live in detention camps or in the community under bridging visas that do not allow them to work. To secure enough support in parliament to pass the bill, the government made concessions. Children will be freed from detention on Christmas Island, an offshore camp where conditions have been strongly criticised.
Under the new law, thousands of the refugees - including hundreds of children - will be able to leave the detention centres and live for at least three years in Australia. The number of confirmed refugees Australia will agree to accommodate will rise by 7,500, from the current level of 13,750, by 2018 (reversing an earlier cut). Asylum seekers on bridging visas will be allowed to work while their claims for refugee status are processed.
They will have work rights and could eventually apply for skilled or other migrant visas. The bill becomes law on Friday when it is passed by the House of Representatives, where the government has a majority.
However, if they do not secure a permanent visa they could be deported to their country of origin. Prime Minister Tony Abbott described the move as "a win for Australia".
Temporary visas were originally introduced under former Prime Minister John Howard but were criticised by rights groups and the UN for failing to meet Australia's obligations as a signatory to the UN Refugee Conventions. "We always said that three things were necessary to stop the boats - offshore processing, turning boats around and temporary protection visas, and last night the final piece of policy was put in place," he said.
The government won the senate vote with the support of the Palmer United Party (PUP) which had negotiated several changes, including a provision that children should be released from a detention centre on Christmas Island. Temporary visas were originally introduced under former Prime Minister John Howard but were criticised by rights groups and the UN for failing to meet Australia's obligations as a signatory to UN Refugee Conventions.
Party leader Clive Palmer called the system the best option available. While refugees can live and work for a temporary period in Australia, the government can deport them to their country of origin after this period if it deems conditions there have improved.
"It's all very well for people to shake their head, but they're not locked up on Christmas Island," he told reporters. "Their children are not missing out on a decent Christmas dinner." Serious concern
Opposition leaders had accused the government of using asylum seekers as political pawns. The government won the senate vote with the support of the Palmer United Party (PUP) which had negotiated several changes, including the provision relating to children detained on Christmas Island.
Rights advocates and other experts have voiced serious concern about the effects of life in limbo in cramped detention conditions on children of all ages.
PUP leader Clive Palmer called the move the best option available.
"It's all very well for people to shake their head, but they're not locked up on Christmas Island," he told reporters.
But refugee advocates said the move was a "shattering blow for asylum seekers who face the grave risk of being returned to danger".
Unless current migration visa rules were changed, many of those identified as refugees would find themselves with "no pathway to permanent protection", said Paul Power, chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia.
He welcomed the "long overdue" decision to release children from detention, but condemned their use by the government "as a bargaining chip for a destructive legislative package to seriously weaken refugee protection".
Opposition leaders had also accused the government of using asylum seekers as political pawns.
Speaking before the senate vote, senior Labor figure Tony Burke said Immigration Minister Scott Morrison was "effectively wanting to use people as hostages".Speaking before the senate vote, senior Labor figure Tony Burke said Immigration Minister Scott Morrison was "effectively wanting to use people as hostages".
"He could have started processing [asylum seekers]. He chose to not do the processing, and is now saying unless we vote for his measures, then he'll continue to keep people in detention," he told ABC Radio."He could have started processing [asylum seekers]. He chose to not do the processing, and is now saying unless we vote for his measures, then he'll continue to keep people in detention," he told ABC Radio.
However Mr Morrison said the government's offer provided a route out of the current political impasse.
Australia and asylumAustralia and asylum
Australia asylum: Why is it controversial?Australia asylum: Why is it controversial?