After six years of cuts and chaos, Scott Morrison and the Liberals continue to neglect Australia’s migrant and multicultural communities.
Scott Morrison has delivered an election con job which gives nothing to people hoping to contribute to our society and call Australia home.
There is nothing in the Budget to improve visa processing times and the Liberals still want to privatise Australia’s visa processing system.
Longer visa processing times mean people are waiting longer to be reunited with family members. People are putting their lives on hold until they can finally settle in Australia.
Partner visas are now at record-high processing times of up to 28 months.
As of 31 January 2018, there were over 191,000 people on bridging visas in Australia waiting to have their visa applications processed.
At the same time, an incredible 81,000 asylum seekers have arrived by plane since 1 July 2014 under the Liberals – this includes when Scott Morrison was the Immigration Minister.
There is nothing to clear the citizenship backlog created by the Liberals. They’re making it harder for migrant and multicultural Australians to become citizens.
We know from the latest Auditor General’s report that over 244,000 people are trapped in the citizenship backlog – over the past four years, the number of citizenship applications stuck in thepipeline has blown out by 771 per cent.
When Peter Dutton proposed the unfair citizenship rules and university level English test it put a freeze on citizenship applications. The legislation was thrown out of the Parliament last year – it’s outrageous that the Liberals have not included one cent in the budget to help clear the backlog.
Why does this Government want to stop people making a pledge of allegiance to Australia?
Finally, the Budget locks in the Liberals’ unfair Temporary Sponsored Parent visa – breaking their promise made before the 2016 election.
The Liberal’s ridiculously high fees mean families would have to pay $40,000 in fees if they access the visa for one set of parents over ten years.
Worse still, the Liberals are limiting their visa to one set of parents per household – forcing Australians to choose between which parents or in-laws they reunite with.
Can you imagine the choice a family has to make choosing which grandparents get to see their grandkids?
The cruel cuts and chaos of Scott Morrison and the Liberals mean migrant and multicultural communities have to wait longer to migrate to Australia, have to wait longer to become Australian citizens, and have to wait longer to reunite with their family in Australia.
The Liberals have failed Australia’s migrant and multicultural communities.
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TONY BURKE MP MANAGER OF OPPOSITION BUSINESS SHADOW MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT AND WATER SHADOW MINISTER FOR CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AUSTRALIA SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE ARTS MEMBER FOR WATSON
SHAYNE NEUMANN MP SHADOW MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION MEMBER FOR BLAIR
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