By Meg Pickup
For the first advocacy report I would like to pass on information from the Refugee and Casework Service (RACS) about the challenges they feel refugees have faced in the past 12 months.
According to them much that transpired ‘has felt dark and difficult.’
In early 2025 the Labor Government passed three inhumane bills that more than threatened the human rights of many people.
In recent times the Government has used its secret taxpayer-funded deal with the Nauruan Government worth $7.5billion to deport at least three people to that failed state.
It has been widely reported that this system has been corrupted with large amounts of money allegedly being paid to bikie gangs. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young summed it up saying it was ‘pretty barbaric’ that despite Australia having ‘obligations to people who come here seeking safety and protection . . . using Nauru as a prison island and thinking we can just pay to dump people there.’
Australia is making the already difficult journeys of individual refugees fleeing persecution in their own countries dehumanising because of our harrowing labyrinthine asylum process. The process:
- can be retraumatising because people are required to repeatedly recount and retell the details of their ordeal, the harm they have suffered and the fears they hold.
- can be highly stressful and confusing. The consequences for missing deadlines can be potentially disastrous. Sometimes asylum seekers must respond with extensive documentation in a seven or 14-day window of opportunity.
- may also result in a lack of sensitivity or understanding by officials, decision-makers and other services that don’t comprehend the experiences or genuineness of refugees seeking asylum.
As members of NRFR we can advocate for an end to Australia’s inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. It’s especially timely now that our political landscape is becoming increasingly intolerant of those perceived to not adhere to ‘Australian values’.
Use your presence on social media to support the most vulnerable people who seek asylum in Australia because they see it as a safe haven.
For more info on refugee settlement in the Northern Rivers visit.
