Action on Refugees – Postcards to Parliament

Media release – Amnesty International (Tasmania) Refugee Rights Action Group

Postcards to Parliament

Saturday, 1 April 2023, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Parliament Lawns, Hobart

The Federal Government’s announcement that 19,000 people on Temporary Protection Visas and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas will now be able to apply for permanent visas is a welcome step forward. However, there are still 12,000 others on short-term bridging visas or no visa at all, still stuck in limbo.

As part of national actions on and around Palm Sunday, the Amnesty International Refugee Rights Action Group Tasmania will have a table on Parliament Lawns, offering passersby prepared, stamped postcards to sign and send to Parliament.

The previous Australian Government set the annual intake of refugees through the Refugee and Humanitarian Program at one of its lowest levels in 45 years, at just 13,750 places. This is despite the need for resettlement having never been greater, with approximately 100 million people currently displaced around the world. We are calling on the Australian Government to increase the annual intake to at least 30,000 places in the upcoming 2022–23 budget, giving priority to people selected by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, and to keep the promise to make places available through the Community Sponsorship Program additional to the annual humanitarian intake.

We are also asking Federal Parliament to enact a Human Rights Act for Australia to ensure that all fundamental rights are protected and appropriately balanced.

When: Saturday , 1 April 2023, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Where: Parliament Lawns, Hobart