David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week I was lucky enough to meet with an ASRC delegation of people subjected to the cruel fast-track process. Narges and her son Nooshad arrived in Australia in 2013, seeking safety from the regime in Iran. Narges is an NDIS support worker, and Nooshad works in IT. Nooshad lives with cerebral palsy and, because of the fast-track process, remains unable to access the disability support that he needs to find work. They told me, 'We've been doing our best for 13 years, but we just want to be able to call Australia home.'

I also met union organiser Thanu. After arriving alone in Australia at just 19 years of age and being stuck in a limbo with no work rights, Thanu has built a life for himself against all odds. He has elderly parents whom he hasn't seen for years. He's prevented from seeing them, from holding them and from making human connections.

Also in the delegation was Rathy. I've had the pleasure of meeting Rathy many times. She's a proud Tamil refugee woman, a grassroots organiser and a mum of two daughters. One was born in Australia, with all the rights that comes with that. She's now a happy 11-year-old and an Australian citizen. The other, her older sister who arrived as a toddler, is now 16 years old. After 13 years, the risk of separation is a real threat to this family. Rathy's older daughter doesn't even know if she will be able to go to uni. She told me:

For more than a decade, we have been trapped in this so-called Fast Track process but nothing about it has been fast. We are left in limbo, waiting, suffering, forgotten. We are not living, we are just surviving. We've lost years, we've lost loved ones, we've lost pieces of ourselves. All we want is a chance to live with dignity, to rebuild, to be free.

How many more lives will be tarnished by this cruel system? Australia is their home. Enough is enough. Let's give them permanency and that home now.