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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 7 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2457 ..

MS MacDONALD (continuing):

There are now only 201 cases left to act upon. By approving the other visas, the federal government has acknowledged the tragic situation of the stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines. I am asking that the federal government now approve these extra visas.

Mr Speaker, I would now like to tell the story of Ly Hong Hai. Ly Hong Hai is now 37 years old. Hai's father was a corporal in the French army in Vietnam who later served in the South Vietnamese army in an engineering and construction unit. After 1975, Hai's father was captured, tortured and paralysed. His family's property and possessions were confiscated and the family, including Hai, was sent to a new economic zone to cultivate virgin land.

One of Hai's brothers died here from untreated malaria, a particularly gruesome way to die. His brother died because he was sent to work in an area where he could not access medical treatment. To put it simply, his brother died because of his father's military history.

Hai was denied entrance to university and employment for the same reason. He fled Vietnam by boat in 1989 and spent nine days at sea with very little food and water before arriving in the Philippines. During the refugee screening process, Hai was asked for a bribe, but he did not have the money. His application was refused.

Hai has a spouse, a seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. His family cannot return to Vietnam because they fear persecution. Like other stateless Vietnamese, they are allowed to remain in the Philippines, but they have not been granted permanent residency status. This means that they cannot obtain work permits. They cannot access education without paying full fees, which they cannot afford.

Last week I was fortunate enough to meet two people who had been in the situation of being stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines and who, two years ago, were lucky enough to be sponsored by their family and come to Australia. One of them, a young man whose name escapes me at the moment, is now 19 and he is studying at the ANU. He was going to school in Vietnam. I was asking him about going to university previously and he said, "Yes, I could have gone to university, but what would have been the point if at the end of the day I could not get access to a job through my university education?"They cannot own property, either, and they cannot travel. Although Hai's aunt, who lives in Victoria, is willing to sponsor the family, he cannot come to Australia because Philip Ruddock has not approved his visa.

Mr Speaker, there is nothing particularly unusual about Ly Hong Hai. There are 648 stateless Vietnamese people in the Philippines with similar stories. Thanks to the Vietnamese community, I have a book which profiles all the people in the Philippines, with photos-just ordinary, everyday people who just want to start a proper life for themselves but currently cannot do so.

All of these 648 stateless Vietnamese people have relatives in Australia who can sponsor them. The question must be asked: why are they still in the Philippines? This is an issue that the Vietnamese community in Australia feels very strongly about. At

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