TRANSCRIPT
At just six-years-old, Tania Naseri and her family made a perilous journey to Australia by boat.
Born in Iran, she says the process of starting a new life in Australia has been lengthy.
"We were in the refugee camps for a while and we learnt English, well conversational conversational English there and I just kind of started going to school."
Now at 17, a new amendment to the migration act has made her and her family fear they may be forced to return to their country of origin.
Tania says her opposition to the Iranian government may put her at risk.
"This new bill, it makes me scared, it makes me anxious, because what if I do get sent back? What am I going to do then? The government already knows I'm against it. They just need any excuse to lock me up really and they're not above that."
The proposed law would compel hundreds of non-citizens who've been refused a visa to voluntarily leave Australia - or face imprisonment.
Another provision would empower the immigration minister to designate countries which do not accept deported migrants as 'removal concern countries'.
Citizens from those countries, such as Iran and Iraq, would no longer be able to apply for a visa to Australia.
This move would effectively block access to Australia for a majority of residents although there are exemptions including partners or immediate family members.
Rita Jabri Markwell, a legal adviser for the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network, says community groups are worried about the granting of what have been called "god-like" powers to the Immigration Minister.
"It looks like it could very well pass, so we are very concerned. This bill concentrates a lot of power in the hands of the minister, what many people describe as god-like powers. It is concentrating power in a way that departs from democratic principles and this should be a concern to all Australians."
She says the changes to the migration act could set a worrying standard for laws that could be viewed as undemocratic and even authoritarian.
"I don't use this term lightly but it is sliding into fascist type of legislation because where you have that concentration of political power over people's lives, leading to discrimination big alarm bells do ring."
The government has previously stated that the bill won't change Australia's protection obligations for those with genuine refugee claims.
But while it remains before the senate, the Greens are demanding it be scrapped.
Senator David Shoebridge says it is fundamentally flawed.
"This is a bill that can't be amended to be made safe. It's not a bill that can be buffed and polished to comply with human rights obligations. At its core is a deep racist set of powers proposed for the Immigration Minister. There's a genuine sense of fear in multicultural Australia in diaspora communities about what this bill means for them and their families and their connections."
Betia Shakiba, a lawyer for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, says the government shows hypocrisy by standing against what it deems oppressive regimes like Iran while threatening to send women back to face potential repercussions.
"We've seen the government and the coalition, coming together and supporting women from Iran at rallies in the past, but this bill is doing exactly the opposite."
Tania says, while the bill continues to be debated, her and her family are living in a state of complete uncertainty.
"You know, I'm in year 12 right now and I should be studying for my exams and out partying with my mates but everyday I wake up and I'm stressed out, thinking 'oh, maybe today's the day I'm gonna get deported'. We all just live in uncertainty and it's driving us insane frankly."
