Morrison Government votes to deny sick people medical care
Today the Australian Government has stripped away a humane, transparent and doctor-led process for the refugees in its care on PNG and Nauru to access essential medical care.
This morning the Morrison Government passed the Migration Amendment (Repairing Medical Transfers) Bill 2019 to repeal the Medevac laws.
David Burke, Legal Director with the Human Rights Law Centre, said this was a dark day in Australian politics.
“This is a shameful day for the Morrison Government and all of the Members of Parliament who voted to repeal these lifesaving laws. Fear and lies have dominated at the expense of men and women who need medical care.”
“Peter Dutton and the Morrison Government have today played cruel, bloody-minded politics with peoples’ lives. The Morrison Government has stripped away the basic shred of humanity that meant that when someone was sick they could get the care they needed.
“Before the Medevac laws, the Morrison Government failed over and over in their duty to provide proper medical care to children, women and men in offshore detention. The Government repeatedly ignored medical advice, including from its own doctors on the islands.
“Now we have seen our politicians once again disregard the safety of the women and men it has deliberately kept trapped in offshore detention for more than six years.
Since the Medevac laws came into effect in March 2019 almost 200 people have been evacuated to Australia to get the medical care they need. However over 500 people remain languishing in offshore detention in the Morrison Governments care in PNG and Nauru.
“Now that the Government has robbed these people of the Medevac laws, it is more urgent than ever that they ensure every single person is resettled to safety. We will continue to challenge these cruel policies.”
Media contact:
Michelle Bennett, Communications Director, Human Rights Law Centre, 0419 100 519
You can donate to support our advocacy
Media Enquiries
Chandi Bates
Media and Communications Manager
Albanese Government must act on whistleblower reform as David McBride’s appeal dismissed
The Human Rights Law Centre, the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom and the Whistleblower Justice Fund are calling on the Albanese Government to act on urgent, robust whistleblower protection reform, after war crimes whistleblower David McBride’s appeal was dismissed today.
Read more
Tax whistleblower Richard Boyle’s guilty plea an indictment on Australia’s broken whistleblowing laws
The Human Rights Law Centre and the Whistleblower Justice Fund have condemned the Albanese Government’s ongoing prosecution of Richard Boyle, as the tax office whistleblower pleaded guilty at a hearing in Adelaide today.
Read more
Crisafulli Government’s shameful adult sentencing laws will harm kids, families, and communities
The Human Rights Law Centre and Change the Record have slammed the Crisafulli Government for passing laws that will sentence even more children to adult-length terms of imprisonment. The laws will lock up children for even longer, and harm kids, families, and communities.
Read more
Acknowledgement of Country
The Human Rights Law Centre acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands across Australia, including the lands of the Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung, Gadigal, Ngunnawal, Cammeraygal, Darug, Wadawurrung, Turrbal and Jagera people where we work from.
We pay our respect to Elders past and present. This land always was, and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
WARNING: This site contains images or names of people who have passed away.