In life, many people try and join up and undertake roles to protect and serve the community and many more dream they would even be able to do so. It is a privilege to be placed in a position of trust. Even if the expectation is that you put your life at risk for the safety of others.
But what about the doctors and nurses who also serve the community. When they trained did they expect they may have to place their lives at risk to tend to the sick? I don’t think so. They will do it, however, because they are great caring individuals who want to do their part. We all thank them for their service.
What of those doctors and nurses who are just guests in this country as a temporary residents? Should we be asking them to fight on the front line and placing themselves at risk for us? No, we certainly should not.
However, that is what the Immigration Minister is asking of our overseas student nurses and doctors to do. He is taking advantage of their compassion, their desire to help others, to place themselves at risk to help us.
The Minister does not even have the decency to offer to the funeral expenses if temporary residency visa holders die in this service. He is not offering to cover rent expenses if they get sick for months. He is not offering to cover salaries if they exhaust their sick leave. He is not offering to cover student tuition fees if they get sick during the semester.
There are thousands of trained nurses and doctors already in Australia waiting for invitations for permanent residency. Let us show our appreciation and respect for their service and grant them their dreams as they help us in this fight.
