Immigration integrity and compassion must go together

Immigration integrity and compassion must go together

I recognise that the Federal Government carries the difficult responsibility of protecting the integrity of Australia’s migration system and ensuring that visa pathways operate as intended. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s reforms, announced at the National Press Club on 17 September, seek to strengthen compliance, address visa overstaying and restrict what the Minister has described as “visa hopping”. Those objectives are legitimate. However,…