IT is good news 1500 people will be released from detention on Christmas Island under a deal struck by the Abbott government with Clive Palmer.
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Immigration Minister Scott Morris says a reintroduced three-year temporary protection visa and a new five-year safe haven enterprise visa won’t provide a direct pathway to permanent residency but will allow asylum seekers to apply for other onshore visas and gain permanent residency if they meet the requirements.
The temporary protection visa and safe haven visa will only be offered to those already in mainland Australia and found to be refugees.
A point of interest for regional communities is that the holders of these visas will have the right to work and will be encouraged to live in regional areas and fill job vacancies there.
No one would deny these asylum seekers their release from Christmas Island, nor the opportunity to make a new life for themselves while their claims for permanent residency are assessed.
But it would be helpful for the government to now work with refugee organisations to ensure these people are directed to where they have the best chance of finding work and a supportive community in which to establish themselves.