As yet another humanitarian crisis begins to unfold, this time in Ukraine, South Coast lawyer and former army veteran Glenn Kolomeitz is stepping up his fight to boost the number of Afghan refugees allowed into Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Kolomeitz, of Gerroa, was part of a delegation that went to Canberra recently to call on the federal government to increase the number of Afghan refugees allowed in Australia.
Mr Kolomeitz was among the group of faith leaders, members of the Afghanistan Australian Advocacy Network and veterans who visited Parliament House to call for more Afghan refugees to be offered a safe passage to Australia.
They argued the current rate of 15,000 arrivals over four years was not a proportionate response to the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded in the country since the US withdrawal of troops.
Mr Kolomeitz, who is a director at GAP Legal Services, was among those fighting to get those Afghans who helped Australian forces out of the country prior to it falling back in the hands of the Taliban.
Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke announced in January that 10,000 humanitarian and 5000 family visas would be set aside over the next four years for those who have or are fleeing Afghanistan.
But this is not additional to Australia's annual intake of 13,750 spots, which must be shared by the approximately 5500 Afghans who have already arrived in Australia over the past year.
Mr Kolomeitz was among a delegation including the Reverend Tim Costello who met with politicians. He said he "could not understate the impact the Afghan visa crisis is having on our veteran community" following a 20-year military engagement in Afghanistan.
"The government and Opposition should not ignore the level of support our veterans are showing for our Afghan colleagues and the people of that country more broadly," he said.
"And it's not just Afghanistan veterans who are sharing their concerns with me - I've had Vietnam veterans tell me this is reminiscent of the fall of Saigon, but many believe Vietnamese refugees were treated better by the Australian government back then than Afghan refugees are being treated now."
Mr Kolomeitz said today that Mr Hawke had given him an assurance that Australia would push through the intake of refugees already agreed to, and he had received word that another of the Afghan families he represents had "just arrived in Darwin in the last half hour".
However, he said he did "want to see a commitment that these numbers are on top of the earlier disingenuous humanitarian numbers".
Delegate Mariam Veiszadeh, chief executive of Media Diversity Australia and the Afghanistan Australia Advocacy Network, said there were just 4500 remaining humanitarian places for those fleeing Afghanistan, yet 150,000 Afghans had made applications to Australia for protection.
"Such a tiny offering isn't a compassionate, humanitarian response, [and] it is not commensurate with the crisis unfolding nor does it reflect Australia's responsibility to the Afghan people," she said.
"Christian leaders, Afghan Australians and veterans have consistently called for 20,000 Afghans to be taken in as an additional intake. Australia's humanitarian cap was cut by 5000 in 2020 to 13,750 - so we've been progressively shrinking our intake as it is."
More than 162,000 people have signed the Action for Afghanistan change.org petition calling on the government to make a number of concessions, including committing to an additional humanitarian intake of at least 20,000 Afghans.
The delegates say there is precedent for Australia lifting its humanitarian intake in response to significant global conflict and upheaval, with the Abbott government offering an additional 12,000 spots to people fleeing Syria and Iraq in 2017.
"Since the 2019 election, we've lost 28,000 humanitarian visas from Australia's planned intake, due to COVID shortfalls, which were then made into permanent cuts," Reverend Costello said. "It is well within the power of this government to make space for a special additional intake of 20,000 places for refugees from Afghanistan over the next two years."
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Sign up for breaking news emails below ...
Merryn Porter
Journalist with more than 25 years' experience in print and digital media who has covered most news rounds, including health, education, politics (local, state and federal), police and courts, with a special interest in women's and family matters. Highly-skilled interviewer and storyteller.
Journalist with more than 25 years' experience in print and digital media who has covered most news rounds, including health, education, politics (local, state and federal), police and courts, with a special interest in women's and family matters. Highly-skilled interviewer and storyteller.
