Inquiry into the Migration Amendment Bill 2024 (Cth)

This Bill should be withdrawn without delay.

Politicised attacks on people based on their visa status must end. The harms inflicted are severe, generational, and go to the heart of Australian culture and community.

We must all be equal before the law. Refugees and migrants are members of the community like any other, and should be permitted to live in dignity, security and peace – not in a parallel, ever-shifting universe where they are relentlessly vilified, punished, and discarded.

Real reform is needed to end the scourge of immigration detention, visa cancellation and its impact on families, and to ensure Australia’s respectability on the global stage.

People must be given the tools to rebuild their lives after objectionable and unlawful treatment by the Government, not subject to a panicked doubling down. This means ability to work, study, and reunite with family in dignity and safety.

The immense harm and waste of resources of legislating in this manner cannot be overstated. Liberty Victoria again calls for consultative and meaningful reform to establish an evidence-based and fair migration system in Australia.