By Jill Fraser
MELBOURNE, Australia (AA) – Australia’s government has announced proposed policy changes under which adult asylum seekers who travel to its shores by boat will be banned for life from entering the country.
This means that even asylum seekers who have chosen to return to their home country will be banned from obtaining any kind of visa, even as tourists.
“The door to Australia is closed to those who seek to come here by boat with a people smuggler -- it is closed,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.
At a joint press conference -- ironically held at the same time hundreds of refugee advocates marched in rallies planned around the country calling on Australia to “bring them [refugees] here” -- Turnbull and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton dashed all hope that this will ever occur.
Turnbull and Dutton announced that the tough new proposals, to be tabled in parliament next week, would prevent all refugees and asylum seekers currently being held in processing centers on the Pacific islands of Manus and Nauru from ever coming to Australia.
“The laws will to apply to any asylum seeker sent to Nauru or Papua New Guinea's Manus Island for offshore immigration processing since July 19, 2013 - the date Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd declared: 'As of today, asylum seekers who come here by boat without a visa will never be settled in Australia,” Turnbull said.
“The government will introduce legislation in the next parliamentary sitting week to amend the migration act to prevent irregular maritime arrivals taken to a processing country for making a valid application for an Australian visa.”
Referring to the scenario as “a battle of will between the Australian people, represented by its government” and “people smugglers”, Turnbull said the law change was necessary to support key government border protection policies.
Human rights lawyer David Manne told Anadolu Agency that Turnbull and Dutton had failed to make a case justifying the need for the proposed changes.
“Given the extremely harsh measures already in place the central question is, why is this deemed necessary, particularly when the government has been saying that the harsh measures currently in place have been so successful,” Manne said during a phone interview.
“This does nothing to resolve the appalling and unsustainable situation for people left in limbo on Nauru and Manus or address their plight,” he added.
“What it does is seek to impose a lifelong sentence by way of a VISA ban on innocent people who fled from abuse.”
Under the proposed changes, the immigration minister would also have power to lift the ban if they believe it's in the public interest for someone to be allowed in to Australia.
Greens Immigration spokesman Senator Nick McKim issued a statement maintaining that the proposed changes run “contrary to international law and our obligations under the Refugee Convention”.
McKim accused the government of sinking to “a new low in its latest attempt to punish innocent people seeking asylum”.
Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek said it was too soon to say if Labor would support the bill.
Nicholas Reece, formerly senior strategist to ex-Prime Minister Julia Gillard and a Principal Fellow at the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Melbourne, told Anadolu Agency he wouldn’t be surprised if Labor supports the bill “because it’s not inconsistent with their current policy position” -- albeit that “Labor’s policy is more humane and promotes transparency.”
Manne said that extinguishing all hope of detainees on Manus Island and Nauru will “exacerbate their existing high levels of stress and anguish”.
Refugee advocates are voicing concern.
The ABC reports Save the Children saying the decision would also impair the chances of many refugees of reuniting with their families who are already in Australia.
"We know from our past experience working on Nauru that these kinds of announcements can lead to significant unrest and despair among the refugees and asylum seekers who are barely hanging on after spending, in many cases, over three years living in limbo," Director of Policy and Public Advocacy Mat Tinkler said.
"Without offering these children and their families a realistic, humane and viable resettlement option, the Australian Government is only further exacerbating the mental anguish and loss of hope that we have seen build on both Nauru and Manus,” he added.
"We have grave concerns that this kind of announcement will push people over the edge."
Right-wing One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has welcomed the policy and is taking credit for it, declaring on Twitter it was "good to see that it looks like the Government is now taking its cues from One Nation".
McKim argued that the policy is a "desperate attempt to reabsorb the votes from Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party" -- which returned to Parliament in July.