On July 9th, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the nation would immediately suspend their extradition agreement with Hong Kong (Reuters). This decision came as a direct response to the passing of China’s controversial national security law in Hong Kong (CNN). Opponents of the security law stated that it would drastically reduce many democratic rights that the region enjoyed (New York Times). These rights include freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and other rights granted to the semiautonomous region (New York Times).
Morrison also announced that the Australian Government extended Hong Kong citizens’ visas living in Australia (Reuters). The granting of temporary visas will allow Hong Kong citizens to stay in Australia for an extra five years and a path to permanent residency (CNN). Morrison also stated that the offer of permanent residency would extend to Hong Kong citizens fleeing the city after imposing the national security law (CNN). Morrison’s announcement came after Canadian officials announced their suspension of extradition with Hong Kong and similar immigration policy (Reuters).
Sources:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests-australia/australian-pm-suspends-extradition-treaty-extends-visas-for-hong-kong-citizens-idUSKBN24A0E8#:~:text=SYDNEY%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20Australia%20said,an%20angry%20response%20from%20Beijing
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/09/asia/australia-hong-kong-extradition-intl-hnk/index.html