Call Senator Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services now
(08) 8586 6600
People seeking asylum and refugees largely do casual work, are losing work hours, and are not currently protected by either the JobKeeper or JobSeeker safety net measures. They are facing extreme poverty and homelessness, making it harder for some to practice safety measures such as staying at home.
Key messages:
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The Government must include everyone in the Job Keeper and Job Seeker packages. But the current COVID-19 safety net package excludes people on temporary visas, which includes tens of thousands of refugees and people seeking asylum.
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The Government needs to ensure everyone has access to Medicare and income support at this time. But thousands of people seeking asylum don't have access to Medicare or income support, so they are without a safety net to protect them from the worst economic impacts and risk of infection and transmission of COVID-19.
Here's how to call:
1. Prepare what you want to say
A clear message that you want Senator Ruston to use her powers as Social Services Minister - including new powers of discretion over stimulus payments - to ensure that people seeking asylum are no longer excluded from these crucial payments.
Your personal story of why you believe that ALL people in Australia, especially the most vulnerable, need access to a basic safety net so that they can stay safely at home and prevent infection and transmission of COVID-19. This includes refugees and people seeking asylum.
2. Dial the number - (08) 8586 6600
- When staff answer, say you want to leave an important message for Senator Anne Ruston.
- State your message.
- Be polite.
- Leave your full name and post code.
- If you can't get through, try calling again. If you get the answering machine, leave a message.
NB: Every call you attempt is important, even if you don't get through.
3. Add your call to the tally
Please tell us you've called Senator Ruston by filling out and submitting the form (to the right or below), so we can demonstrate the groundswell of calls our community are making!
4. Spread the word
Post the Senator's office response on social media, tag Anne Ruston, and include hashtags #SupportForAll and #COVID19au
Share a link to this page and ask more people to call: https://action.asrc.org.au/call_minister_ruston
Thank you for taking action to prevent more lives being lost to COVID-19.
Together we will win a permanent, safe home for men, women and children seeking asylum.
