More rights for asylum-seekers
Thursday, July 31st, 2008Patricia Karvelas; 31/7/08
Asylum-seekers will be refused the dole but given greater rights to work and access to Medicare while they wait for their cases to be resolved. In a radical departure from the Howard government’s hardline policy, the Rudd Government will dramatically increase the rights and support granted to asylum-seekers. Under the changes unveiled by Immigration Minister Chris Evans yesterday, detention would be used only if department officials could show a person posed a security risk. If not, they would be released into the community until their status was determined. Senator Evans said he was aware of concerns that the current bridging visa arrangements can leave people in the community “without the capacity to work and earn a living or be in receipt of Medicare”.
