Thread by @MehreenFaruqi

Labor is voting with the Coalition to take support away from migrants. Their decision is punitive & reeks of xenophobia.

I know the impact their vote will have, because 27yrs ago the support I received when I arrived in Australia is the only reason I'm here today

1/x #auspol

I came here as a migrant in 1992, with my husband, my one year old son and 2 suitcases - A very typical migrant story.

My husband and I - both engineers- were told that there was an acute shortage in Australia and there were lots of jobs available for us. But when we got here, things were quite different. We applied for hundreds of jobs and never got a look in.

The only way we could survive for the first few months in a new country where we knew literally no one was a support system in Australia that recognised migrants do need financial assistance.

Without that support and my husband driving a taxi as soon as he got a licence we wouldn't have been able to keep food on the table or a roof over our heads.

27 years on, we are still here. I studied, worked as a civil & environmental engineer in local government, consulting firms and in academia, all because we were given support in the early days. Like millions of other migrants, we contribute to our society as much as anyone else.

And here's the reality.

Labor's decision to back the Liberals to take support from migrants will inevitably take food off the table of some of Australia's most vulnerable families.

It will punish migrants as soon as they arrive in Australia.

If someone is caring for someone with a disability or a severe illness, perhaps their child or partner, what exactly is Labor and the Government’s advice for the year that you are now excluding them from carers payments?

As a migrant, I find Labor’s position on this just disgusting and cowardly. If you are going to stab migrants in the back, look us in the face as you do it. Don’t pretend you are doing it for our own good. Don’t sit here and pretend you had no other option.

Because that's the kicker.

This doesn't have to happen.

If Labor doesn't vote for this punitive and xenophobic bill it WILL NOT PASS.

sbs.com.au/news/exclusive…

This is Labor at their most disgusting and cowardly.

The should join the @Greens and the cross-bench to vote this bill down #auspol #Greens