Opinion: We are all in this public health crisis together and we no longer have the luxury to exclude. COVID-19 does not discriminate based on visa, residency or citizenship status and nor should our policies responding to it.
Ideology is a luxury we can enjoy in good times, but the realities of the COVID-19 health and economic crises demand pragmatic solutions.
Australians have collectively ignored overwhelming evidence that these policies contribute to widespread wage and superannuation theft in part because we rely on temporary migrant workers to perform dirty, dangerous and demeaning jobs in food services, delivery, retail, horticulture, health, social care and cleaning. These jobs, and therefore temporary migrants, are crucial in the COVID-19 crisis.
Exclusion from the JobKeeper payment and other social security may push temporary migrants to work when sick and into the informal labour market. While some state governments have waived COVID-19-related medical costs for temporary residents, restricted access to Medicare may discourage them from medical visits.COVID-19 does not discriminate based on visa, residency or citizenship status and nor should our policies responding to it.
The Australian government should return to this approach and extend protections available to citizens to all temporary migrants, following the Portuguese government’s recent example.
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