Visa crackdown exposes politicians' citizenship double standard

By Mary Crock and Kate Bones

​PHOTOThe regulations are likely to increase the number of migrants being detained for potentially long periods of time.Immigration Department

---

As Australia's citizenship drama has expanded to claim more political scalps, the Minister for Immigration quietly introduced regulations of devastating effect for migrants who slip up at any stage in the complicated process of applying for an Australian visa.

The Migration Legislation Amendment (2017 Measures No 4) Regulations introduced a raft of new hazards for migrants from November 18.

Slipped into law amid the chaos of recent weeks, Greens Senator Nick McKim is introducing a motion to disallow these regulations today.

Unlike primary legislation, which is debated and voted on in Parliament before becoming law, regulations come into force immediately upon a signing by the Governor-General. Regulations are "tabled" in Parliament and it is only then that politicians can vote to have them "disallowed".
​
We can only hope that enough politicians of goodwill survive the citizenship purges to realise the injustice of these measures and strike them out.

FOR FULL STORY PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
amp.abc.net.au/article/9224418