Thursday, 20 November 2025

 Anasina GRAY-BARBERIO (Northern Metropolitan) (22:28): (2163) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Premier, and the action I seek is for you to advocate to your federal colleagues to open immediate humanitarian visa pathways for family reunification in relation to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, a crisis that has claimed over 150,000 lives, displaced more than 12 million people and left 30.4 million in urgent need of aid since April 2023. This is the worst humanitarian displacement of our time, demanding urgent attention, compassion and action. But we have to be clear: this is not a civil war, as language matters. Calling it a civil war suggests two equal sides. This is a proxy war, a war fuelled by foreign powers – including the UAE – supplying weapons and financing the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, who are committing mass atrocities. In El Fasher, North Darfur and North Kordofan the RSF has carried out systematic killings, sexual violence as a weapon of war and the destruction of villages and refugee camps. Satellite images reveal mass graves and burnt communities – horrors visible from space. These are more than statistics; they are families torn apart, children starving and civilians targeted for their ethnicity. Following discussions with Sudanese Australian community members and advocates, they urgently call on Australia to amplify their voices, cut off weapons and financial support to the RSF, enforce a global arms embargo, including the UAE, and provide immediate humanitarian assistance.

Since the conflict began Sudanese Australians have not received the same compassion extended in other humanitarian crises. No dedicated humanitarian visa pathways exist, leaving families separated and loved ones trapped in danger. The suspension of the community support program has made family reunification almost impossible. Across Australia between 200 and 300 Sudanese people on bridging visas are living in fear – workers, students and parents unable to bring loved ones to safety. Premier, the Sudanese community will appreciate you advocating on their behalf to the Prime Minister.