Hello all,
Thanks so much for your support of this petition.
I wanted to give everyone an update. The Greens have been in contact with Australian Social Workers for Palestine and advised they plan on tabling this petition in Parliament mid-May (along with all the signatories). It would be amazing if we can crack the 20,000 mark before than to keep applying pressure on the govenrment. Please keep sharing this petition with your contacts.
This article published by the Guardian demonstrates the needs of newly arrived Gazans:
The government recently announced the below supports for Gazan arrivals:
Whilst the group acknowledges this is a step in the right direction by the Labour government and is long overdue, it is still nowhere near enough what is required by Gazan arrivals and the Palestinian community in Australia. Previous humanitarian arrivals from the Ukraine and Afghanistan were given access to Centrelink and Medicare not long after their arrival in Australia. They too were initially placed on Visitor visas but then placed on Humanitarian viasas.
The Australia government has shown with these previous groups that they can make swift changes to accommodate the humanitarian and resettlement needs of those impacted by war. We ask that the same rights are given to newly arrived Palestinians, as their ability to work right away is highly unrealistic given the trauma they continue to experience with many loved ones still stuck in Gaza.
Your support will continue to send a powerful message to policymakers and keep this issue at the forefront of their decision-making.
In solidarity,
Australian Social Workers for Palestine