Bridging visa to where?

Imagine a world in which you are not allowed to work, have no income support and are denied all health benefits. You have no way of supporting yourself or your family. And you know no one who can help you. What would you do? How would you survive?

What sounds like the premise for a dark and twisted reality TV show is in fact a very real predicament for thousands of community-based asylum seekers in Australia.

The bridging visa E category (BVE) allows asylum seekers to reside lawfully in the community while they await the final outcome of their applications for protection visas and appeals procedures.

But for many asylum seekers, BVEs are a double-edged sword. All too often the joy that comes with being granted such a visa is countered with the awful realisation that survival will be virtually impossible under the draconian conditions attached.

The government's arcane "45-day rule" means that an asylum seeker who is granted a BVE is only entitled to work rights and Medicare if they made their application within 45 days of arriving in Australia. The vast majority of people who make their application outside that period miss out. The Asylum Seeker Project (ASP) estimates that around 40 per cent of BVE holders fall into the latter category.

While Minister for Immigration Amanda Vanstone refuses to reveal the number of BVE holders in Australia, it is estimated that there are around 1,000 in Melbourne alone.

For those without a support network of family or friends in Australia, the consequences can be dire: abject poverty, homelessness and severe health problems left untreated.

A recent report by Anne McNevin, of the Australian National University, Seeking Safety, Not Charity, featured some disturbing case studies that highlight the unjust nature of the 45-day rule. There was the young woman from the Horn of Africa who lodged her protection visa application in 2000 and, with no way to earn a living, spent most of the next few years homeless. At one point she was hospitalised for malnutrition.

Another asylum seeker, an African woman who had been the victim of genital mutilation in her homeland, was refused an appointment with a gynaecologist because she had no Medicare card. A single mother, she was also unable to get medical treatment for her two-year-old son when he fell ill.

And then there was the little boy from the Middle East who had to walk two hours to and from school each day because his family could not afford public transport fares. They were so poor that he sometimes went for entire days without food.

These are not isolated cases. An ASP study of 200 community-based asylum seekers found that 95 per cent had no work rights or Medicare benefits; 68 per cent were homeless or at risk of homelessness; 44 per cent were in debt to friends, lawyers or had outstanding bills or detention costs; and 24 per cent had been refused medical treatment because of their status.

It is unacceptable for the government to inflict such suffering on people who have come to this country seeking refuge. In many cases it is a flagrant breach of the Refugee Convention and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Minister Vanstone says the 45-day rule is justified because "generally, genuine asylum seekers apply for a protection visa soon after arrival". This is at odds with ASP research that found several legitimate reasons for asylum seekers failing to lodge their applications within the 45-day period: misinformation from well-meaning family or community members; insufficient information or the inability to access representation; migration agents failing to lodge on time; and a lack of English or understanding of legal or immigration procedures.

Only thanks to the good work of various churches, charities and individuals, are asylum seekers in this situation able to survive. These good Samaritans have been subsidising the Howard Government's moral deficiencies since 1997.

The Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, which helps more than 400 asylum seekers across Melbourne, is one such organisation. Its Basic Living Assistance Program provides these asylum seekers with an average of $30 per person per week. In addition, it provides housing assistance and monetary assistance for emergencies, as well as referrals to health, education and legal services.

The project's total emergency relief and housing budget is currently $30,000 per month. Besides a $40,000 grant from the Ross Trust and Sisters of Charity (for a total of three years) and $1,000 a month from St Marks Community Centre, there are no regular funds going to the Basic Living Assistance Program.

It is time for the government to lift the burden on these charities and free asylum seekers on BVEs from this limbo.

Members of the Coalition, like the Republicans in the US, are now trying to stake a claim as the political party naturally aligned with God. Peter Costello has shamelessly hinted that somehow the moral and political philosophy of the Coalition is more in tune with Christianity than Labor's, but no one will be manipulated by such a campaign if the Coalition continues to ignore what is at the heart of Jesus' teachings: compassion.

It is yet to be seen if asylum seekers released from detention as a result of recent amendments to the Migration Act will face the same restrictions. Their rights are not defined; instead, according to the prime minister's media release, it will be up to the minister to "set conditions" and specify "individual circumstances". Despite his best intentions, it was irresponsible of Petro Georgiou to settle on a deal that has the potential to leave families released from detention worse off.

Denying asylum seekers the right to participate in the Australian economy, and thus denying them the right to support themselves and their families, is cruel. And at a time when a skills crisis is threatening to cripple Australia, it is illogical to ignore the valuable contribution they have to make.

When Parliament next resumes I intend to introduce a notice of motion calling on the Howard Government to abolish the 45-day rule and allow asylum seekers on bridging visas E work rights and access to Medicare.

Economic responsibility and compassion are not mutually exclusive. A government can, and should, exercise both.