Free Children from Detention - see below
Our next market stall will be on Saturday 5 December at Valla Beach.
This will be our last market of the year and is likely to be a big one! John and Mike will be setting up at 7.00 am and would welcome helpers between 9.00 am and 1.00 pm. We will be making a final push to collect signatures for the petition to the Prime Minister, as we plan to send the completed sheets to Canberra before Christmas. We’ll have tea towels, bags, T shirts and bumper stickers on sale as usual. For the first time, following requests from supporters, we will have “boat people” T shirts on sale – great gifts for Christmas! All profits from the sales go to ChilOut, the national charity which works for the release of children from detention.
If you can join us for an hour or two, please let Mike know by emailing him at : mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com, or phone him on: 6569 5419, or just drop by to say hello and sign the petition. Helping out at the markets is always an enjoyable experience, so why not give it a try?
Church leaders call on parliamentarians to free children from detention
This newsletter is recorded here for archive purposes - to read click below
At the weekend, church leaders took out a half-page ad in the Sydney Morning Herald, calling on Parliament to pass the legislation, agreed by the Senate a week ago, which would result in children and their families being released from mainland detention centres. It is possible that the legislation will be considered this week. The open letter to all members of the Federal parliament states: “During this time of preparation for Christmas and the season of giving, we call on parliamentarians to give the gift of freedom to these children and their families.” The letter also calls on all Australians of goodwill (that’s all of us!), to contact our local MP to ask them to vote for the release of children and their families. Let’s all do that!
For most of us, our local MP is Luke Hartsuyker. His email address is: Luke.Hartsuyker.MP@aph.
Please note that the proposed legislation does not include asylum seekers and refugees on Manus and Nauru.
Mike's email below
Dear Mr Hartsuyker,
In today’s SMH, faith leaders have published an open letter to all parliamentarians , calling on you, as our representatives, to release children and their families from immigration detention. These vulnerable people deserve the gift of freedom. I stand with the faith leaders and urge you to do the right thing when the Senate’s amendments to the Migration and Maritime Powers Amendment Bill comes before parliament.
The government should, of course, go further, and commit to the closure of offshore detention centres. Many of the 95 children currently languishing in indefinite detention on Nauru have been there for more than two years. This is utterly disgraceful, morally indefensible and in contravention of our international obligations. There is irrefutable evidence that detaining children for prolonged periods is detrimental to their mental and physical wellbeing. Now would be a good time, as we approach Christmas, to acknowledge the damage caused by the policies pursued by governments of different persuasions in recent years, and to take concrete steps to bring this shameful episode to an end.
Yours sincerely,
Mike
Or the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre suggests you ring Malcolm Turnbull to release children from detention by supporting the legislation passed by the Senate
Yesterday you will have received an email outlining the horrors facing children in detention in Australia
If that news disgusts you, just forward that email to Luke Hartsuyker to emphasise the point .
The email address is Luke.Hartsuyker.MP@aph.gov.au
Send it to a friend to extend the understanding of the problem.
the email is recorded on the blog http://bellorar.blogspot.
United Nations Chief rebukes detention policy - smh 23 November 2015
In a statement, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "expressed concern over the detention conditions in Australia's offshore processing centres" and encouraged Mr Turnbull to "reconsider" Operation Sovereign Borders, Australia's military-led regime to combat people smuggling and oversee borders.
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Report on last protest of the year in front of Luke Hartsuykers Office
Great turn out for our last protest of the year in front of Luke Hartsuyker's office. We are taking a break to regroup for next year and will let you all know our plans soon. Unfortunately the asylum seekers illegally detained on Manus, Nauru and Christmas Islands are not so fortunate so please keep up the letters to our MP's and newspapers and keep the pressure on..Thanks to Kim and the crew at the Happy Frog for your continued support...more power to the good people in our community!!
National RAR
Some much needed good news -
Julian Burnside has agreed to be Patron for Rural Australians for Refugees - see more at - http://www.
Rural Australians for Refugees
P: (03) 5448 5479 M: 0417 313 037 E: rar.australia@gmail.com
Meeting to discuss future of Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts groupThe event will take place on Sunday 21st February 2016, starting at midday with a meeting to discuss progress and strategy, followed at 1.00 pm by lunch. Please put the date in your diary. Further details will be circulated nearer the time.___________________________________________________________ National Rural Australians for Refugees - now has current news on their web site• email - rar.australia@gmail.com____________________________________________________________ ______________________________ ________________________ Blog http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians. (8658 page reads)check out the index of subjects on the blogthe draft newsletter for next week is on the blog see tab at top and will be sent to 367 recipientsMission statement for our group has been renamed "who are we?" and can be read at http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au/p/ission.html It includes the updated RAR leafletOur Facebook page can be found at(389 likes)Twitter Account @RARBellingenNamDavid Wallin
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