4 years ago
PARENT VISA FIASCO: AGEING PARENTS ARE ‘NOT FAMILY MEMBERS’
JULIAN HILL MP
Acting Minister Alan Tudge’s latest policy gaff defies common sense and raises serious questions about the Minister’s competence and judgement.
The Minister has been caught [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/stupid-and-downright-dangerous-parents-of-australians-to-be-forced-overseas-to-receive-visas-20201201-p56jfe.html] forcing the elderly parents of Australians, who are already safe here in Australia, to fly overseas during a pandemic, just so they can have their visa granted.
On Saturday night the Minister cynically moved to quash a Private Member’s Bill and said would fix visa issues for the partners of Australian citizens.
Yet today he told the media that “the parent cohort … are not considered immediate family members” so will still be forced to make an expensive, pointless round trip overseas, risking COVID19 infection, and wasting a precious quarantine place.
Forcing a “fly out, fly in” rule on elderly parents is ridiculous and downright dangerous.
These are the parents of Australians who have paid over $50,000 each and waited years for these subclass 143 Contributory parent visas.
Minister Tudge is telling Australians their parents are not considered family by his Department.
The Minister has the power to fix this problem today, with a stroke of his pen and must so do today..
More than 36,000 Australians are stranded overseas, desperate to come home, waiting for seats on planes and quarantine places.
How many more quarantine places will be wasted before Christmas?
Many Australians have contacted me, outraged and upset that the Department of Home Affairs is demanding travel plans to prove their ageing parents will leave Australia in the next few weeks or risk having their visa cancelled.
This hapless Minister is lurching from crisis to crisis, making announcements but failing to act.
The Minister has been caught [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/stupid-and-downright-dangerous-parents-of-australians-to-be-forced-overseas-to-receive-visas-20201201-p56jfe.html] forcing the elderly parents of Australians, who are already safe here in Australia, to fly overseas during a pandemic, just so they can have their visa granted.
On Saturday night the Minister cynically moved to quash a Private Member’s Bill and said would fix visa issues for the partners of Australian citizens.
Yet today he told the media that “the parent cohort … are not considered immediate family members” so will still be forced to make an expensive, pointless round trip overseas, risking COVID19 infection, and wasting a precious quarantine place.
Forcing a “fly out, fly in” rule on elderly parents is ridiculous and downright dangerous.
These are the parents of Australians who have paid over $50,000 each and waited years for these subclass 143 Contributory parent visas.
Minister Tudge is telling Australians their parents are not considered family by his Department.
The Minister has the power to fix this problem today, with a stroke of his pen and must so do today..
More than 36,000 Australians are stranded overseas, desperate to come home, waiting for seats on planes and quarantine places.
How many more quarantine places will be wasted before Christmas?
Many Australians have contacted me, outraged and upset that the Department of Home Affairs is demanding travel plans to prove their ageing parents will leave Australia in the next few weeks or risk having their visa cancelled.
This hapless Minister is lurching from crisis to crisis, making announcements but failing to act.