Key Points
- After spending three years in refugee camps, Dai Le arrived in Australia as an 11-year-old refugee,
- Some 30-odd years later, the independent MP believes processing times for refugees need to be cut drastically.
Dai Le escaped the Vietnam war in a rickety boat filled with hundreds of asylum seekers, with her mother and two sisters.
After spending three years in refugee camps in Hong Kong and the Philippines, she arrived in Australia as an 11-year-old refugee,
She told SBS News how dangerous that journey was.
“I thought we were going to die," she said.
“My mother is praying [with] her rosary and saying make sure if the boat tips over you’re going to hold onto your sister, and I thought if the boat tipped over there’s no way we’re going to hold onto anything because we’re going to die because [there] was such a huge storm and none of us could swim.”
Some 30-odd years later, the independent member for Fowler believes processing times for refugees need to be cut drastically now more than ever.
Dai Le said she’ll be looking to advocate for the settlement of more refugees and ensuring processing delays are minimised. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
“Whenever I see them, I shake my head, I’m thinking how can we let those people languish in camps for years on end?”
Ms Le said she’ll be looking to advocate for the settlement of more refugees and ensuring processing delays are minimised.
She also said she would be open to refugees who arrived by boat being resettled in Australia.
“Process them, ensure they meet the criteria, and if they meet the criteria as they are genuine refugees, I don’t see why wouldn’t the government of the day give them and make sure that they get that settlement as quickly as possible," she said.
LISTEN TO
SBS Our House: Dai Le
SBS News
21/08/202217:02
Delayed waiting times
Australia's current refugee intake cap is at 13,750 places per year, which allocates 16,500 places over the next four years.
There are currently more than 26,000 people waiting for the Department of Home Affairs to decide on their refugee status.
Hannah Dickinson, Principal Solicitor at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) said waiting times have ballooned.
“In our experience it will take roughly one to three years for a decision to be made when the Department’s aim is a 90-day turnaround,” Ms Dickinson told SBS News.
Protesters at a rally for refugee rights at Sydney Town Hall in Sydney, Sunday, 24 July, 2022. Australia's current refugee intake cap is at 13,750 places per year, plus an addition program for Afghan refugees which allocates 16,500 places over the next four years. Source: AAP / Steven Saphore
The waiting period can also increase further if people denied protection make an appeal.
“If you apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, you’re looking at about two years to get a decision, in addition to that initial time you were already waiting,” said Ms Dickinson.
Access ‘restricted’ and ‘difficult’
There are two primary ways of applying for permanent protection: through Australia’s onshore and offshore programs.
Onshore resettlement includes those on temporary or bridging visas who have flown into Australia to seek protection and apply for permanent visas.
The offshore humanitarian program is for people who have their refugee status determined overseas and apply to be resettled in Australia.
The government has continued the boat-turnback policy, which prevents asylum seekers from being able to settle in Australia if arriving by sea.
But Ms Dickinson said it’s nearly impossible for people to apply from abroad.
“Access to Australia’s offshore humanitarian program is really restricted and really difficult," she said.
She said Australia’s program is also “opaque”, and those overseas who may be denied protection may never be told why, and there are fewer ways to appeal a decision.
This can prevent families split between countries from being able to reunite.
The ASRC is calling for an increase in places available, as the number of displaced people continues to increase, and to make seeking protection more accessible.
“It doesn’t reflect global demand ... people who are entitled to visa grants won’t get them because there aren’t enough places being offered by Australia," Ms Dickinson said.
“It’s important Australia looks at ways to improve safe passage and intake so people most in need have access to protection”
Dai Le said it’s also about ensuring refugees who are resettled in Australia get access to services and resources to help them thrive.
In her own electorate of Fowler, she said more than 10,000 refugees have been settled.
“I would like to advocate for them to have a job, to have access to English, to have access to proper education so they can actually build a future for themselves," she said.
SBS News has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.
The SBS Our House podcast meets the politicians in Australia’s new federal parliament - the country's most diverse yet. .
