An open letter to the Leader of the Opposition

Dear Mr Taylor,

We haven’t met yet but I genuinely would welcome the opportunity to speak directly with you.

Last night your budget speech was probably directed towards someone like me: Sydney suburban renter, private school educated, university graduate, daughter of a small business owner. I have been incredibly grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had in my life due to the hard work and aspirations of my parents – aspirations you applaud.

Along with the deeply disturbing aspersions cast over our migrant communities, there was another deep barb headed my way, somewhat unexpectedly.

You said, “Those who criticise the law being enforced must explain why their sympathies lie with illegal overstayers instead of migrants and Australians who abide by the law.”

I should be used to this rhetoric by now; attacking lawyers and advocates, much like your Temporary Protection Visa policy, is nothing new. Your predecessors have referred to us as the salt and pepper on the table of people smugglers, as a drain to the taxpayer with all our tricky legal moves. And the real kicker: UnAustralian.

All this simply because I have dedicated my legal career to defending the rights of people seeking asylum. To standing with refugees. To finding safety for those who are stateless and displaced.

These are people you allege come from places that render it impossible for them to contribute wholly to our community, who could never align with “our values”. Yet these people are now nurses and creatives, business owners and soccer coaches. Many of them, in fact, are building the very houses we so desperately need to address the housing crisis you've so unfairly hung on their heads.

My sympathies lie with those whose lives have been destroyed by war, families ripped apart by conflict, who otherwise find themselves fleeing persecution for simply loving who they love.

I do the work that I do in service of our Australian values that we both claim to share. Values like fighting for the underdog and belief in a fair go for everyone.

To continue peddling this narrative that such people arriving are doing so en masse and illegally, that they are accessing welfare from the moment they arrive (I wish this was the case Mr Taylor, it’s been a long fought argument we have lost) is the true disservice to our Australian community. It breeds fear, disunity and mistrust. It’s a fallacy and it’s harmful.

It is legal to seek asylum, Mr Taylor. 

My loyalties do indeed lie with the law, as they should. 

And my sympathies remain firm and clear: my sympathies lie with our humanity.

Sarah Dale
Centre Director & Principal Solicitor
Refugee Advice & Casework Service

Sydney, 15 May 2026