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.
They’ve been here 8 years on working visas, neither is a permanent resident.
Unfortunately Australia does not grant citizenship by birth unless at least one of the parents is a permanent resident.
Not sure what their plans were, but it sure is a shitty situation if they were anywhere close to being granted permanent visas.
To me this just demonstrates how fucked our working visa system is.
I would argue its the system doing exactly what its meant to do.
The whole point of migration and visas is that you get to choose who you allow in, get to pick the skills and abilities your country needs, in exchange for the ability to work there and/or apply for citizenship.
Immigration is meant to be selective, meant to be picky, and meant to fill gaps your country has. Is it harsh, and more than a little cold - absolutely. But that is what Immigration is.
I think your assessment of what immigration does is accurate, but the conclusion I come to from that fact isn’t, “actually this is fine” but “actually fuck borders”.
Also, the idea that a disabled person will be a net negative to a country because of their “financial burden” is incredibly short sighted. There’s no consideration there that maybe kicking out a disabled two year old might have negative effects on the fabric of society.
The Australian state in particular has been on an anti-human rights kick of late. This is just more evidence of their complete indifference to humanity, and it is eroding their legitimacy.
The whole point of migration and visas is that you get to choose who you allow in
That’s fascist.
Luca, his parents were told, could be a financial burden on the country.
Oh hell that is evil. How can you even kick a child’s parents out of a country? He will be even more of a burden if the state has to take care of him.
They want the two year old to leave the country and move somewhere he’s never been because he’s disabled.
Hey, you know who else wanted to remove disabled people from his country using violence? Hitler.
It’s so weird, like I was born in Australia and moved away at the age of 4 and somehow have citienship? I wasn’t born disabled but am now. The system is so weird.
The abled ones too, just not to the same degree.
Imagine though. That family lived in Australia for eight years straight, their kid was born in Australia, and they have to leave because their kid who was born in Australia has a disability. Crazy!
Countries don’t allow anyone in. They get to pick and choose who they want. That’s literally how immigration works.
If they let anyone in and gave then free healthcare then everyone could just go there and get free healthcare. That’s doesn’t make and sense, that’s completely unsustainable.
They are on a working visa. They aren’t on some 1950’s move here and become a citizen visa.
We’re not talking about letting anyone in.
These two were working towards becoming citizens. They were already here.
I meant permanently.
They must be on temporary visas. A temporary visa is not a visa to citizenship.
They would have been on a 457 visa which means they were indeed temporary, but they had skills in demand. It is a pathway to citizenship.
Point is, we’re not just letting people show up for medical treatment.
