Video Protest – 12 Years Too Long

12 YEARS TOO LONG — END THE BAN ON RESETTLEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

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Background

On 19 July 2013, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that anyone who came seeking refuge in Australia by boat would never be able to settle in Australia. This policy was zealously enforced under Coalition governments and has remained in place under the Albanese Labor government.

As a result of this policy, up to 40 men remained trapped in PNG after 12 long years — many were extremely ill physically and mentally.

About another 1,000 people who were evacuated from PNG or Nauru and had been living in Australia for years were still denied any permanency in this country — the government referred to this group as “transitory persons”. Some did not have work rights, some did not have rights to education. All lived on precarious short-term bridging visas that generally had to be renewed every 3–6 months. All were separated from their families.

And while not a direct consequence of Rudd’s ruling, the flawed and unfair Fast Track process that Tony Abbott implemented in 2014 kept up to 9,000 people without any real safety, living in fear and uncertainty. While the Albanese government abolished the Fast Track process, they did not set aside the unfair decisions made under it.

All of these people deserved — after so many years — to have security and permanency to live in Australia. End this cruelty.

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About the Protest

Each year over the past 12 years, RAC held a protest to mark the anniversary of Rudd’s announcement. In 2025, we held a video protest at Parliament House on Sunday 13 July — the week before the anniversary — which was filmed and released to mark the 19 July anniversary. The video above is the result of that action.

Thank you to everyone who turned out and participated. The campaign to end offshore processing and grant permanent protection to all refugees in Australia continues.