Australian immigration minister fails to reintroduce Temporary Protection visas
A vote on the reintroduction of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) has seen the Australian Government defeated. The Abbott government promised to reintroduce TPVs if elected at the last election, however the move for reinstatement was quashed by the upper house of the Australian parliament.
TPVs are temporary visas, lasting three years, which were granted to asylum seekers. After three years, the circumstances of the holder of a TPV were reassessed to see if the TPV holder would still be in danger in his or her home country. If the danger was passed, the visa would not be renewed. TPVs were abolished by the Australian Labor government which took power in 2007.
Immigration minister Scott Morrison introduced legislation to reintroduce TPVs shortly after the Coalition’s victory in the general election in September 2013.
TPVs have been described by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young as ‘cruel’. She said ‘All they did was punish the most vulnerable, the most genuine, the most deserving refugees simply for having dared seek protection for their families’.
She added ‘Refugees on TPVs often refer to living in fear of being returned home back to the dangers they fled in the first place’.
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