Sharman Stone, the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has today called for the government to bring back temporary protection visas for asylum seekers.

John Howard's government brought in temporary protection visas or TPVs in 1999. They were supposed to discourage 'boat people' by restricting the rights they'd be entitled to once they'd arrived, including not being able to bring family members over. It was valid for 36 months and after 30 months they were able to apply for a protection visa.

Amnesty International was strongly opposed to this visa. The organisation argued that it was completely ineffective and caused further trauma to people who had already suffered extended periods of fear and uncertainty.

The Rudd government acknowledged this when it abolished the TPV in August 2008. Reinstating this visa would be a step backwards for the recognition of refugees' human rights and Australia's international reputation.

There has never been evidence that TPVs succeeded in deterring boat people. In the two years following its introduction the number of boat arrivals actually increased and the vast majority (90%) were ultimately granted permanent protection visas.

In fact, the most obvious effect of TPVs was an increase in the number of woman and children risking the potentially fatal journey to Australia in order to be reunited with their husbands and fathers. This completely discredits Stone's assertion that re-introducing the TPV will help to prevent people smuggling.

She also wants the TPV reintroduced so that asylum seekers can return to their country of origin when it is safe again. This argument doesn't quite work when you consider that the majority of asylum seekers so far this year have come from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The UNHCR has described the situation in Afghanistan as increasingly insecure. It's been seven years since the most recent war in Afghanistan started and there doesn't appear to be any end in sight. To suggest that Afghan asylum seekers should reapply for a protection visa every three years is ludicrous and inhumane.

As well as the logistical impracticalities, there were severe psychological effects of this visa. TPV holders experienced higher levels of post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and other psychological illnesses. They often experienced major trauma before coming here and were then detained, sometimes for long periods.

The uncertainty created by TPVs caused asylum seekers to live with ongoing fear of being returned to the country they had fled. Unable to fully settle into the community, TPV holders had to put their lives on hold for three long years.

So to summarise, the opposition has said that it wants to reinstate a policy that is proven to not reduce but increase numbers of arrivals, costs more as it requires two assessments not just one and causes further trauma to a group of people who have already suffered severe human rights abuse.

Both the opposition and the government just don't seem to get it. They constantly refer to boat people as 'illegal' despite the fact that asylum seekers have every right to seek protection in Australia. And, they constantly inflate the threat of asylum seekers arriving by boat. Last year Australia had 0.26% of all the asylum seeker cases worldwide.

0.26%, that's all!

Yet we hear nearly everyday about the risks boat people present to our national security and how they're a border protection issue. It is way too easy to forget that asylum seekers are human beings who have been persecuted, discriminated against and marginalised because of who they are or what they believe.

The abolition of the TPV was a huge step towards improved rights for asylum seekers in Australia. It is a visa category that should stay exactly where it is - in the past.