Issue for October 2021:
Urgent Action: Upcoming Migration Legislation
Supported by ARAN, RAR, G4R, & NARN
Included in this kit is the information you need to create your own letters or use the proformas
Please note that this is an urgent action, in relation to legislation that may be raised in Parliament next week. It is Important that you send emails as soon as possible.
· Guide and Background notes prepared by ARAN’s Letter Writing Network.
· 2 proforma letters that you can copy (and personalise) to send by email.
· Postal Addresses for MPs and Senators
· Email addresses for MPs and Senators
Personalised letters are best.
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Regards,
The ARAN Letter Writing Network
austrefugeenetwork@gmail.com
BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR Upcoming Migration Legislation
Paraphrase these using your own words.
· There are three immigration Bills before the Parliament which give additional sweeping powers to the Minister, and which target refugees, people seeking asylum and other migrants who are in immigration detention or facing visa cancellation or refusal.
· The Government claims that the bills are necessary to address problems which in fact either do not exist or are already addressed by existing powers.
· There is great concern that these Bills may be rushed through in the coming session of Parliament (weeks of 18 and 25 October)
The three Bills are:
1. Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention) Bill 2020
The Bill would give the Minister broad powers to ban everyday items in detention centres, including mobile phones and other electronic devices. It would also greatly expand the powers of private security contractors to conduct searches and seize property.
We campaigned against this bill when it was introduced last year. The Bill passed in the House, but the Government did not pursue it in the Senate when it appeared that they did not have the support of sufficient numbers for it to pass in the Senate. It is currently before the Senate.
2. Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) bill 2019
The Bill would replace the current character assessment regime with a blunt instrument, with a very low threshold for automatic failure, such as deportation of long-term residents for minor offences.
This Bill was introduced in 2019. The Greens introduced amendments in the Senate which did not pass. The Bill is currently before the Senate.
3. Citizenship Legislation Amendment ( Strengthening Information Provisions) Bill 2020
The Bill would remove a person’s right to know the reasons behind citizenship determinations and respond to the case against them. It gives excessive power to the government and increases secrecy.
This bill is currently before the House. It was referred to the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security in May 2021.
Please see this statement from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre for further information.
KEY REQUEST
· We are calling for these Bills to be rejected in their entirety because of the threat they pose to the rule of law, human rights and transparency.
SAMPLE LETTERS Upcoming Migration Legislation
2 sample letters are provided to give you ideas about what to write. Please ‘mix and match’ from these 2 letters to write your own personalised letter.
LETTER 1. provided by E., Canberra RAC
Dear Senator
There are three Bills regarding immigration currently before parliament which I believe will increase secrecy around government actions, and are likely to have devastating effects on vulnerable individuals. Because of a lack of clarity in the bills, they are open to abuse and will only add to the dysfunction of the immigration detention system.
I am concerned that these bills might be rushed through Parliament in the next sitting beginning next week without proper scrutiny and debate. The three Bills are:
The Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention) Bill 2020
This Bill, currently before the Senate, gives the Minister excessive powers to ban everyday items in detention centres, including mobile phones and other electronic devices. It would also greatly expand the powers of private security contractors to conduct searches and seize property...
The Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) bill 2019
This Bill, currently before the Senate, would replace the current character assessment regime with a much blunter instrument, with a very low threshold for automatic failure, such as deportation of long-term residents for minor offences.
Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Information Provisions) Bill 2020
This Bill would remove a person’s right to know the reasons behind citizenship determinations and respond to the case against them. It gives excessive power to the government and increases secrecy.
This bill is currently before the House, and was referred to the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security in May 2021.
These bills give additional sweeping powers to the Minister, and target refugees, people seeking asylum and other migrants who are in immigration detention or facing visa cancellation or refusal. The Government claims that the bills are necessary to address problems which in fact either do not exist or are already addressed by existing powers.
I am therefore calling on you to ensure that these Bills are rejected in their entirety because of the threat they pose to the rule of law, human rights and transparency.
Yours sincerely
Name:
Address:
LETTER 2. provided by B. - Great Lakes RAR
Dear Senator
It is with deep concern that I am writing to you.
As you are no doubt aware, there are currently 3 Migration Bills before Parliament: 2 in the Senate which MAY be listed for debate in the sitting week commencing 18th October; and 1 in the House (referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security in May of this year).
ACTIONS I AM REQUESTING OF YOU
All of these Bills should be rejected in their entirety. They collectively deny fundamental rights, purposefully block scrutiny of Government actions and represent an unacceptable incursion of the rule of law.
I am asking you to ensure that when the Bills are presented they are given proper scrutiny, are fully debated and adequate analysis is accorded to their radically harmful implications.
The Bills of concern are:
1. The Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention) Bill 2019
· The Amendments would provide the Minister with unjustifiably broad personal power to prohibit anything he or she personally wished to specify, including items that pose no specific threat;
· The expansion of search powers proposed by the Bill fail to recognise the many different forms of immigration detention and circumstances of detainees, and would have a profoundly adverse impact on highly vulnerable people, including refugees and asylum seekers with past experiences of torture and trauma; and
· The prohibition of communication devices such as mobile phones would unreasonably interfere with basic human rights of immigration detainees, including access to legal representation, freedom of expression and association, access to essential assistance and support including from mental health professionals, immediate family and religious counsel.
No compelling case has been put forward by the Government to justify these amendments.
2. The Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2019
· The amendments proposed by the Bill apply to all persons, without exception, who hold temporary or permanent visas.
· The Bill proposes the introduction of a category of ‘designated offences’ characterised by particular types of conduct and a maximum sentencing term of a t least 2 years imprisonment.
· Under the proposed changes, any non-citizen convicted of a ‘designated offence’ in Australia or overseas, will be deemed to fail the character test, irrespective of the actual sentence imposed, enabling the Minister’s discretionary visa cancellation powers.
· The amendments are retrospective in application meaning that people who have committed historical offences will now fail the character test where previously they were considered not to fail the character test.
· The retrospective element of the proposed changes to the Bill give rise to rule of law concerns.
· The proposed amendments are inconsistent with Australia’s international obligations concerning non-refoulement, the rights of the child, and the right to family unity.
No compelling case has been put forward by the Government to justify these amendments.
The Bill is likely to adversely impact the operations of the administrative law system including the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court; and the criminal justice system including State and Territory Courts.
3. Citizenship/Migration Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Information Provisions) Bill 2020
· The proposed Bill would significantly restrict the circumstances in which a person would have the ability to respond to key information relied upon to reach a decision against them.
· Without being informed of reasons for visa revocation, the person is unable to make a first-instance response to the Department.
· Under the Bill the Administrative Appeals Tribunal is restricted from access to the confidential information that provides the basis for the cancellation decision (limiting merit review).
· Under the Bill proposals, the quality of judicial review will be significantly eroded. The person facing cancellation and their legal representatives will, by default, be excluded from the preliminary hearing in which the confidential information is disclosed to the court. Whilst the court may subsequently decide to disclose the information, the court’s capacity to decide in favour of disclosure is extremely limited.
The Bill proposes a model where in a large number of cases people who face visa cancellation will have no opportunity to know or respond to the case against them.
The outcome of visa revocation may include expulsion to a country where they have never lived and have no networks , separation from children and other family, where expulsion is not possible, indefinite immigration detention, and, in the case of some refugees, refoulement to a country where they might face harm.
Yours sincerely
Name:
Address:
LETTER 3. Send a copy of your letters to your local MP and include comments about why you have written/why you want these bills rejected.
Dear … … (insert the name of your local MP)
Re: Upcoming Migration Legislation
Please find attached copies of my letters to
1. … … … (insert the names of MPs/Senators you have written to)
2. … … …
Yours sincerely
Name:
Address:
The Subject line of your email could be: URGENT ACTION Upcoming Migration Legislation
