Save the Children Australia CEO, Paul Ronalds, said, “The cuts of financial assistance to these innocent and vulnerable people who have been living peacefully in our community – some for years – are shocking, unnecessarily cruel and serve no legitimate purpose.
“We are greatly concerned that children and families we worked with on Nauru may be among those impacted by these changes in the future, which could leave them destitute and forced to either return to harsh and dangerous conditions in Nauru or return to places they’ve fled for fear of persecution.
“We know from our time working on Nauru that it’s not a safe or sustainable place for refugee children to live. Forcing people back to Manus Island or Nauru at this time is particularly harsh, with the uncertainty of the US resettlement deal offering no real end in sight for these innocent people, who just need a safe place to rebuild their lives.
“It is astonishing that the government would use these tactics to pressure people to leave behind their lives in Australia and place their children back in harm’s way.”
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