Vulnerable refugees prioritized by Australian immigration.

When Australian immigration moved a group of refugee children to the mainland prior to completion of the processing of their visas, spokesperson of the opposition, Sharman Stone, claimed that changes to the immigration policy of Australia has been made by the Rudd Government.

This claim was made by the opposition spokesperson because a group of ten Afghan youths were transferred from Christmas Island to mainland Australia even before the processing of their visa application was done. The Rudd government however maintained that o such changes has been introduced in the Australian immigration and refugee policy.

In an attempt to explain the situation, Senator Evans said that this hasn’t been the first ever case when someone has been brought to mainland Australia even before the finalizing of visa status. He added that even in the past exceptions had been made for people who are vulnerable or those who face health problems, and cited examples of a pregnant woman or seriously ill people to explain his point. He also said that decisions on cases like these are made depending upon the situation at hand.

On the 7th of May this year, these children came to Christmas Island and as per policies; they were required to be detained at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre under the care of Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Though the children still came under the rules for offshore migrants, they were brought to mainland Australia so that better services can be provided to them.