Morrison has dangled new concessions in a desperate bid to reintroduce the temporary protection visa and has hooked the votes of 3 senators. But with Labor, the Greens, Jacqui Lambie and John Madigan opposing the bill, the votes of Senator Ricky Muir and 2 Palmer United Party senators are still needed to bring back the TPV.

Late breaking news indicate that that Morrison’s latest attempt to get the TPV legislation through the senate may succeed with indications that PUP senators and their ally Senator Muir will support the bill. The immigration minister wants to reintroduce the TPV which in essence offers limited asylum period to refugees but dissallows permanent residency. The opposition is insisting that the 30,000 asylum seekers living in limbo in Australia receive the possibility of a permanent visa.

Morrison latest concessions include the following:

• increase the annual humanitarian intake of refugees from 13,750 to 18,750 over the next four years if the bill currently before the Senate is passed. But the increase will only happen once the "legacy caseload" of the 30,000 asylum seekers who arrived under Labor has been cleared.
• stop the transfer of about 1500 boat arrivals from late last year, including 460 children, to Nauru. They will be taken into the legacy caseload and have their applications processed.
• asylum seekers would be offered work rights. Currently some 25,000 asylum seekers who are on community bridging visas do not have work rights.
• introduce a five-year Special Humanitarian Enterprise Visas., These visas are designed to encourage refugees to live and work in regional areas of acute labour shortages. If at the end of the visa, the refugee has not drawn on welfare benefits for three and a half years, they can apply for onshore visas.

Labor supports the use of Special Humanitarian Enterprise Visas if they can lead to permanent visas for asylum seekers but continues to have concerns about the legislation, and remains firmly opposed to TPVs and the parts of the bill that entrenches boat turn backs.

Labor immigration spokesman Richard Marles said Mr Morrison's bargain plea was "politics at its worse", saying the minister could have taken all children off Christmas Island months ago, rather than hinging his decision on the Senate passing the bill.

It has come to the attention of Migration Alliance that RMA and CPD Trainer, Michael Jeremy has had his identity stolen by an unregistered fraudster.  This is not the first time he has had his identity stolen.  This time he is called 'Captain Mr. Michael Jeremy'.

The email chain that the real Mr Michael Jeremy has received in his email inbox this morning is as follows:

-START-

Here is the location to lodge your complaint with the DIBP:

http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/services/services-form.htm

It gets logged, tracked and actioned. 

The following has come to the attention of Migration Alliance today:

An ENS application under sc186 was lodged by a RMA in July 2014.  The case was processed and the applicant was asked to pay the second instalment.  This was paid on 11 November 2014.    Confirmation of this payment was also sent to the DIBP on 11 November.  Normally it takes less than one week after payment of the second instalment for a decision.  Sometimes it can take less then 24 hours.  Now the RMA has receieved the following email from the DIBP case officer after chasing them on their decision / grant letter:

Dear Mrs XXXXX [name removed for privacy reasons]

Fiji has become the target of scammers including travel and recruitment agents who are taking people’s money with the promise of work visas into Australia. The Australian High Commission has warned that while Australia had invited Fiji to join the Seasonal Worker Program and the Work and Holiday Visa program, neither of those arrangements had been implemented. The Australian government is therefore not accepting any applications.

In a media statement the high commission said it was advised of visa scams relating to fake work visa permits for the Seasonal Worker Program and Work and Holiday Visa Program between Australia and Fiji.

"This means that while both the governments of Fiji and Australia are working on these arrangements, no such visas are yet in place for Fijian citizens for these programs," it stated adding that the high commission will make an announcement once it starts accepting applications.

DIBP is currently in the process of negotiating new and more liberalised Working Holiday Maker visa arrangements with several new partner countries including Mexico, Hungary, Vietnam, San Marino, the Czech Republic, Latvia, the Slovak Republic and Andorra. Earlier this year it signed agreement with Greece, Poland, Spain, Portugal and Israel. However, so far the programs for only Spain and Portugal have started.

China has was recently flagged for 5,000 such visas under the proposed China-Australia Free Trade Agreement and could very well become the next hotbed for scams.