Australia accused of discriminating against disabled migrants
When Luca was born in a Perth hospital two years ago, it flipped his parents’ world in ways they never expected.
With the joy came a shocking diagnosis: Luca had cystic fibrosis. Then Australia - Laura Currie and her husband Dante’s home for eight years - said they couldn’t stay permanently. Luca, his parents were told, could be a financial burden on the country.
“I think I cried for like a week - I just feel really, really sorry for Luca,” Ms Currie says. “He’s just a defenceless two-and-a-half-year-old and doesn’t deserve to be discriminated against in that way.”
With a third of its population born abroad, Australia has long seen itself as a “migration nation” - a multicultural home for immigrants that promises them a fair go and a fresh start. The idea is baked into its identity. But the reality is often different, especially for those who have a disability or a serious medical condition.
Luca, his parents were told, could be a financial burden on the country.
Oh hell that is evil. How can you even kick a child’s parents out of a country? He will be even more of a burden if the state has to take care of him.
It’s so weird, like I was born in Australia and moved away at the age of 4 and somehow have citienship? I wasn’t born disabled but am now. The system is so weird.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
And after years of fighting for it, they are hoping for change in the coming weeks, with an official review of the health requirements under way.Laura Currie and Dante Vendittelli had moved from Scotland for jobs that Australia desperately needs.
She and her husband Qasim fought to stay in Australia in a case that drew global attention.Their son Shaffan was born in 2014 with a rare genetic condition and a damaged spinal cord.
Instead, he found jobs in cafes, in supermarkets and taxi apps to make ends meet.“They should realise that’s a very difficult situation - you shouldn’t put people in the limelight,” Ms Butt says.
It’s a snag that has hit Claire Day’s plans for her and her family to follow her brother, who moved to Australia a few years ago.Her younger daughter Darcy, who is nearly 10, has Down Syndrome.
Their social media feeds are full of promotional videos fronted by former British police officers, showing them living the Australian dream, patrolling the beach in sand buggies and relaxing in the surf.
Social worker Shizleen Aishath says she was “gobsmacked” to find out about the health requirement - and she discovered it the hard way.A former UN employee, she came to Australia for a further degree with every intention of returning to the Maldives.
The original article contains 1,499 words, the summary contains 216 words. Saved 86%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
The abled ones too, just not to the same degree.
Imagine though. That family lived in Australia for eight years straight, their kid was born in Australia, and they have to leave because their kid who was born in Australia has a disability. Crazy!
They’ve been here 8 years on working visas, neither is a permanent resident.
Unfortunately Australia does not grant citizenship by birth unless at least one of the parents is a permanent resident.
Not sure what their plans were, but it sure is a shitty situation if they were anywhere close to being granted permanent visas.
To me this just demonstrates how fucked our working visa system is.
Countries don’t allow anyone in. They get to pick and choose who they want. That’s literally how immigration works.
If they let anyone in and gave then free healthcare then everyone could just go there and get free healthcare. That’s doesn’t make and sense, that’s completely unsustainable.
They are on a working visa. They aren’t on some 1950’s move here and become a citizen visa.
How is having a larger workforce that can support more free healthcare not sustainable? Do you think migrants don’t work or anything?
If anyone could go there for free healthcare then a lot of people without free healthcare would go there.
If free healthcare care is so easy why doesn’t ever country do it?
Greed
