Refugees and mayoral candidate call for government action on visas in Brisbane
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On Sunday, the Refugee Action Collective and Tamil Diaspora Association of Queensland marched through Brisbane calling for the Australian government to grant refugees in Brisbane permanent visas in place of the rolling three month bridging visas, which means they can’t get steady work, housing or Medicare. They say they are unable to go back to their countries of origin as it’s still too dangerous.
Some of these refugees are still on these bridging visas, some for more than a decade. They ask for permanent security in the country with a permanent residency in order to continue contributing to the community and access the public benefits that a permanent residency would grant them.
Netta Finney spoke with protesters at the march.