Motions

Afghanistan

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. C.M. Scriven:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges the more than 26,000 Australians who served in Afghanistan and mourns the ultimate sacrifice 41 Australian soldiers made while serving our countries;

2. Supports the people of Afghanistan during this difficult time and acknowledges the sacrifices made by many Afghan people over the last 20 years working with Australian and NATO partners to help free Afghanistan from the Taliban;

3. Supports and commits to work with the local Afghan community of South Australia and provide assistance where appropriate;

4. Calls on the Morrison government to implement the following actions:

(a) immediately grant all Afghan nationals who are already in Australia on Safe Haven Enterprise visas (SHEVs) and Temporary Protection visas (TPVs) a path to permanent residency and ultimately Australian citizenship;

(b) subject to all necessary security and health checks facilitate migration to Australia of Afghan residents (including their families) who have worked with or assisted Australian Defence Forces or consular personnel in Afghanistan, in recognition of their service to Australia;

(c) immediately announce a humanitarian refugee visa program for Afghan ethnic minorities, such as the Hazaras and advocates for women’s rights and human rights, journalists and other activists at risk due to Taliban rule; and

(d) prioritise and increase the number of Australian family reunion visas for Afghan Australians.

(Continued from 25 August 2021.)

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (23:10): I rise today in support of the Hon. Clare Scriven's motion. Over the past 20 years, Australia, the US and other allied nations have suffered great losses in the declared war on terror, but none as much as the people of Afghanistan. The US-led invasion's supposed function was to expel and dismantle terrorist groups and safeguard the Afghan people. However, in waging this war, tens of thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed in the crossfire. The recent termination of US occupation has led the country back in time to 20 years ago, to Taliban rule. This poses the complicated question of why a government was formed that was unsustainable without the economic and military aid of the US.

However, this war did have its merits: it fought for the rights of women and girls to access education and to be free of persecution. The future of women and girls in Afghanistan today is very unsure. If you are a woman or a girl at this moment in Afghanistan, it means:

you cannot attend school or work safely;

you cannot attend university without wearing a burqa and being segregated from men and the teacher;

you cannot participate in politics;

you cannot participate in public sports; and

you cannot protest against the government.

Just to be Hazara means to face a potential genocide. The resurgent Taliban's face—as changed, inclusive and legitimate—is steadily slipping. Their interim government, formed on 7 September, unsurprisingly consists only of men and no-one from ethnic or religious minorities. A spokesperson of the organisation said, 'It's not necessary that women be in the cabinet.' To quote Afghanistan's embassy in Canberra, this cabinet is 'illegitimate, unjustifiable and un-Islamic'.

Further, to see how women in Afghanistan are valued by this organisation you would only have to look out a window. Their erasure of women from the public space can literally be seen by the painting over of images of women on buildings and billboards. Equally as concerning is the imminent poverty crisis. Afghanistan is on the brink of economic collapse as a result of frozen foreign aid. Ninety-seven per cent of the population may shortly be below the poverty line, according to the UN.

In the withdrawal of the occupation, this crisis was predictable. Just like our efforts in this war, Australia's rescue missions were seriously deficient. By 26 August, the government extracted 4,100 people from Kabul, including Australian citizens, visa holders and Afghan nationals who aided Australian defence forces. However, there are Afghans who aided the ADF who have been left behind, leaving them at risk of persecution. When probed, the Prime Minister simply stated, 'Support won't reach all that it should.' This is simply not good enough.

Australia must step up to the plate and implement the proposed actions. As the future for foreign aid in Afghanistan is uncertain, the bare minimum Australia can do is to create pathways for Afghan asylum seekers to take refuge in Australia. Currently, the Australian government has allocated 3,000 humanitarian places for Afghan nationals; however, this is not a special intake of refugees. The allocation is deducted from our already dwindling humanitarian visa program, a program that has been cut by 5,000 places this year alone, going from 18,750 places in 2020 to 13,750 currently.

The UK and Canada are both offering 20,000 new humanitarian visas. Amnesty International Australia and refugee advocates have suggested Australia should match this baseline. I believe Australia can and should do better for the people of Afghanistan. Our prime minister has also recently said in reference to this crisis, and I quote:

We will not be allowing people to enter Australia illegally, even at this time. Our policy has not changed.

By its very definition, there is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker or refugee. For people in Afghanistan who have insecure access to funds and local flights, what does he suggest is the optimal way for those seeking asylum to enter Australia? Furthermore, the most our government has done for those on temporary visas is to state that, 'No Afghan visa holder will be asked to return to Afghanistan at this stage.' Empty words that do not reassure the many Afghan Australians on these visas who fear the possibility of deportation to an unsafe country.

The reality is the nation of Afghanistan is highly at risk of civil war, poverty and terrorism, and our country has played a part in the war. Australia must offer a path to permanency and ultimately citizenship now and give Afghan temporary visa holders peace of mind and the ability to call Australia home.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge our strong Afghan community in Adelaide who have banded with the Muslim community groups to assist with visa applications and fundraising. The Afghan Australian Women's Association, Human Appeal Australia, Adelaide Sisters Association, Islamic Society of South Australia and the Islamic Information Centre of South Australia have raised over $150,000 for emergency relief in Afghanistan in a single event. If the federal government modelled the Afghan Australian community's selflessness and perseverance our humanitarian efforts would be far more ambitious than they are now. Australia can and should do better for Afghanistan.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. G.M. Girolamo.