Australia faces pressure to change strict immigration policy blocking disabled people from living there.

Australia accused of discriminating against disabled migrants

When Luca was born in a Perth hospital two years ago, it flipped his parents’ world in ways they never expected.

With the joy came a shocking diagnosis: Luca had cystic fibrosis. Then Australia - Laura Currie and her husband Dante’s home for eight years - said they couldn’t stay permanently. Luca, his parents were told, could be a financial burden on the country.

“I think I cried for like a week - I just feel really, really sorry for Luca,” Ms Currie says. “He’s just a defenceless two-and-a-half-year-old and doesn’t deserve to be discriminated against in that way.”

With a third of its population born abroad, Australia has long seen itself as a “migration nation” - a multicultural home for immigrants that promises them a fair go and a fresh start. The idea is baked into its identity. But the reality is often different, especially for those who have a disability or a serious medical condition.

  • MindTraveller@lemmy.caEnglish
    41·
    6 months ago

    immigration Australia, or more to the point the individual case manager, is not responsible for the wider fabric of Australian society

    Sure they are. That’s literally what you said their job was 5 minutes ago, and that’s their stated intention. They think the disabled 2 year old is bad for Australian society.

    • HappycamperNZ@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23·
      6 months ago

      No, their job is to follow the process they are given. You’re assuming their job is to change the rules because otherwise it will affect the wider society.

      Your physical ability, and the potential burden it would place on society is a part of that processes - their job isn’t to make an exemption because wider society might not like it.

      • MindTraveller@lemmy.caEnglish
        41·
        6 months ago

        All people have an ethical obligation to challenge the rotten aspects of the society they live in. But that’s beside the point of the fact that you’re simultaneously saying they need to deport a toddler for the good of society, and that they don’t need to worry about the good of society. You’re doublespeaking.

        • HappycamperNZ@lemmy.worldEnglish
          23·
          6 months ago

          The double speak is completely from the fact its the visas job to deport them. These are the conditions of the visa, you’re here for this reason and you don’t have citizen rights. They don’t need to worry about the good of society with what everyone else may think because that’s not their job. Do you want every person in every role in government to make decisions based on their personal feelings in the matter, or the process and rules they are trained in?

          Its like saying I’m double speaking by needing money but also spending it to live.