This blog has been set up to further the cause of compassion for Asylum Seekers.
We will post letters that have been sent to politicians, building up the pressure to provide compassionate support to all refugees in Australia and anywhere where people have been sent by the Australian Government.
Send your letter and any reply to our email address and we will post it on the site. Any other information of use will also be posted. For Facebook page click on "contact us" tab below.
Click on subject of interest shown on the right under the heading "labels" to see all relevant posts
To look at letters (and some replies) sent to politicians and newspapers, scroll down the index on the right hand side and select the appropriate heading.
Note the blog allows multiple labelling and all letters to politicians are under "letters to pollies".
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Purchase your tickets for the Simon Tedeschi Recital Sunday 12th June at 2.30 pm
Don’t forget to purchase your tickets soon for the Simon Tedeschi recital. Tickets are on sale at Helloworld Travel on Bowra Street in Nambucca Heads and at the Alternatives Bookshop at the top of High Street in Bellingen. If you can’t get to one of these outlets and you want to reserve tickets, then please phone Mike on 6569 5419. To avoid disappointment, don’t leave it until the last minute!
Please consider bringing something to share for refreshments at the end of the recital. If you are able to contribute something – biscuits, cakes, nibbles etc, then please email Susan at: susandoyle47@me.com.
We hope to raise $1,000 each for ChilOut and the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, and maybe have something left over to offer direct assistance to refugees in Australia.
Thanks to the generosity of one of our supporters, we have a valuable, beautifully framed, limited edition print by Mark Barnes, which will be raffled at the recital, but we are still looking for items to put in a hamper. Please let Mike know by emailing him at mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com if you can contribute something.
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Pop up Protest in Dorrigo Thursday 26 May 2016 from Facebook
Five intrepid and determined souls braved the Dorrigo plateau winds to bring RAR's message to the people of Dorrigo and surrounds. Great response from the majority of motorists as our Pop Up Protest flanked both sides of the Armidale road near the local High School.
Hopefully tonight some of the local school children will be asking their parents about Manus and Nauru Islands and some debates may be taking place at the pub and coffee shops around town in the next few days.
In two weeks we will be in Bellingen for another protest...stay tuned to Facebook or our regular newsletter for times and location.
24.5.16
Newsletter for 24 May 2016 RAR Bellingen and Nambucca Districts
Next pop up protest is in Dorrigo 3.00-4:30pm Thursday 26 May 2016
opposite the High School Entrance on Waterfall Way as you leave town for Armidale
This newsletter is stored here for archive purposes. To read more click below
My letter sent it to the editors of the following local papers : Guardian News, Coffs Coast Advocate and Bellingen Courier Sun. It’s possible that the editors may decide it is too political and so I prefaced the letter by reference to RAR being a non party political group. We will just have to see what the editors decide.
Marlene
Dear Editor ,
I am writing the letter below on behalf of RAR which is a non party political group. I am not setting out my own views but trying to summarise the positions on policy of the main parties on these issues. I then leave it to readers to decide which way to go.
Marlene
WHERE DO THE MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES STAND ON REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS.?
I am writing this letter as a supporter and member of our local RAR Group ( Rural Australian’s For Refugees) which is a non party political group.
Electioneering is well underway so it is a good time to examine the positions of the major parties on refugee and asylum seeker issues.
The Coalition’s policy is that indefinite detention of refugees and their families should continue, boat arrivals should continue to be turned back, offshore processing on Manus and Nauru should also continue. These policies underline the basic belief that asylum seekers and refugees in offshore detention should not under any circumstance be resettled in Australia even if they are found to be genuine refugees. They will be encouraged to return home where they may fact torture and persecution or to resettle in some other relatively poor country such as PNG or Cambodia .
There are some differences between Labor and Coalition policy. For example Labor states that it would increase the numbers of humanitarian intake of refugees over and above the figure proposed by the Coalition -this however this would be on a very long proposed timescale leading to 2025. Labor would also support a significant increase in funding to UNHCR to assist and speed up the processing process.
However, Labour policies are identical to the Coalition on many key issues. Labor supports the policy of turning back the boats and the retention of offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus . The Labor leader, Bill Shorten made the point this last week that there are millions of migrants and refugees that have contributed greatly to Australian life and prosperity. In spite of this, current Labor policy, like the Coalition’s policy , advocates the resettlement of refugees from Manus and Nauru “ anywhere but Australia”.
Finally, let’s examine where the Greens stand on all of this. The Greens Party supports the closure of offshore detention centres and so is campaigning for an end to the brutal and inhumane treatment of refugees on Nauru and Manus Island . They support an immediate and significant increase in the humanitarian intake number. The Greens also advocate bringing asylum seekers from Nauru and Manus to Australia for processing and support the resettlement of those found to be genuine refugees in Australia.
The election will soon be upon us and so an assessment of the policies of the major parties on refugee and asylum seeker issues needs to be considered alongside other major election issues before we cast our votes. It will soon be decision time and so it’s a good time to reflect on these issues between now and election day .
Julie Bishop backs Peter Dutton over refugee comments
The Foreign Minister stands by the Immigration Minister over his remarks about the cost of taking refugees while Labor and the Greens call them 'offensive' and 'xenophobic'.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has backed comments by her colleague Peter Dutton that "illiterate and innumerate" refugees would take Australian jobs or "languish" on the dole if Australia was to significantly increase its humanitarian intake.
Labor and the Greens have blasted the Immigration Minister's comments as "deeply offensive" and "xenophobic". But Ms Bishop said Mr Dutton was making the "self-evident" point that it is highly expensive to resettle refugees and that it is time for a "reality check" on the issue.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has backed Peter Dutton's comments. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Facing demands to slap down his Immigration Minister, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull refused to comment on Mr Dutton's statements at a press conference on Wednesday, saying he would only take questions from local journalists.
The Greens have proposed increasing Australia's refugee intake from around 13,700 currently to 50,000.
Asked about the proposal on Tuesday, Mr Dutton said: "They won't be numerate or literate in their own language, let alone English.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
"These people would be taking Australian jobs, there's no question about that.
"For many of them that would be unemployed, they would languish in unemployment queues and on Medicare and the rest of it so there would be huge cost and there's no sense in sugar-coating that, that's the scenario."
Asked repeatedly whether Mr Dutton's comments were appropriate, Ms Bishop on Wednesday declined to criticise her colleague.
"Peter Dutton is pointing out the very real cost involved in issuing humanitarian and refugee visas," she told Sky News.
"Often the people who come to Australia on these visas are from very troubled backgrounds - particularly from Afghanistan but also Pakistan and beyond - and there is an extremely high cost involved in ensuring they an be a contributing member of society.
"Let's have a reality check here.
"Of course the cost of cost of ensuring people who come here to Australia as a refugee on a humanitarian visa is very high."
Ms Bishop said the government's plan to resettle 12,000 Syrian refugees had been costed at $700 million over four years, a significant amount of money.
"Peter Dutton is pointing out the self-evident fact that it costs a great deal of money to settle people in Australia," she said.
Asked about Mr Dutton's specific comments on literacy and numeracy, Ms Bishop said: "The costs involved are also education costs - teaching people English because they speak another language.
"These are all significant costs and we shouldn't run away from it."
Ms Bishop said it was easy for the Greens to propose vastly increasing Australia's refugee intake because they are not a party of government and will never have to implement the policy.
Speaking in Cairns, Mr Turnbull said Australia has the most successful multicultural society in the world.
"We invest more in settlement than many other countries do," he said.
"So it is, it's very expensive.
"We don't begrudge the money but it's important to get it right."
He then shut down questions on the topic, saying: "We are going to do have another doorstop in Townsville and this is really for the local Cairns media."
Labor has vowed to increase Australia's annual humanitarian refugee intake to 27,000 people by 2025.
Labor immigration spokesman Richard Marles accused Mr Dutton of using the asylum seeker issue for political advantage and trying to "fan the flames" of debate.
"This is very ugly indeed,' he said.
"Malcolm Turnbull must reject it. He must come out and in unequivocal terms say that today."
Unless Mr Turnbull does so, it will show he is leading the "Abbott government", he said.
Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said: Peter Dutton's scare mongering on refugees over jobs exposes the Liberal policy as being steeped not in care for people in need, but xenophobia."
The Coalition has used the election campaign to hammer Labor about divisions over its asylum seeker policy - particularly boat turnbacks.
Mr Turnbull on Tuesday appeared in front of a Border Force patrol boat in Darwin to promote the government's success at stopping the boats.
A Senate estimates hearing heard Australian taxpayers fork out $1458 a night each for 167 men held at the Christmas Island detention centre, costing a staggering $243,000 a day.
This is on top of spending on mainland detention centres and the $1.2 billion cost of running offshore detention centres last financial year.
Election 2016: No, Prime Minister, you can't airbrush away the damage done on Nauru and Manus Date May 17, 2016
Michael Gordon Political editor, The Age View more articles from Michael Gordon
It's not yet day 10 of the campaign, and Malcolm Turnbull has played the asylum-seeker card with all the deftness and subtlety of a Tony Abbott shirtfront.
Until now, Mr Turnbull has been content to let Peter Dutton do the dirty work, serving up his daily tally of the number of Labor MPs who have ever expressed the slightest discomfort with any elements of Coalition (or Labor) border protection policy.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after he visited Border Force onboard the Cape Jervis patrol boat with local member ... Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after he visited Border Force onboard the Cape Jervis patrol boat with local member Natasha Griggs in Darwin on Tuesday. Photo: Andrew Meares Now, with a Border Force patrol boat to provide the photo opportunity, Mr Turnbull has stepped up to declare that Labor doesn't have the courage, or the will, or the conviction to stop the boats.
But, no, Prime Minister, the 25 Labor MPs you say are only the "tip of the iceberg" are not in open mutiny over Bill Shorten's (and Labor's) commitment to turning back the boats and offshore processing (notwithstanding the breathless headlines in the Herald Sun).
Many have done nothing more than express similar sentiments to you, like when you told Fran Kelly you "sympathise with, and grieve for" the "mental anguish" that so many on Nauru and Manus Island have had inflicted on them.
Most of them simply share the concerns you said you had for those on Nauru and Manus in your very first televised interview after becoming PM, before the bureaucrats and Mr Dutton pulled you up.
Many of them believe the United Nations refugee agency when it asserts, after visiting both places with health professionals, that refugees and asylum seekers should be removed "immediately".
The agency described both arrangements as "completely untenable", despite the best efforts of Nauru and Papua New Guinea,saying prolonged detention had proved "immensely harmful" for the around 2000 people on Nauru and Manus Island.
That was after a shocking spike in self-harm on Nauru and the decision by PNG's highest court that the denial of liberty to those on Manus violated that country's constitution – and countless reports chronicling instances of abuse and sky-rocking levels of mental illness.
Yet, in the story Mr Dutton and now you are trying to project, these and other problems are airbrushed away and anyone with a scintilla of empathy is disqualified from office. It's unbecoming.
But it isn't turnbacks, or even offshore processing per se, that is causing most angst among the "Labor dissidents" (and several on your own side); it's the miserable failure, year after year, to find any enduring solution for those who have been found to have a legitimate fear of persecution if they return to their home countries.
After almost three years in office, you have only come up with one third-country option, Cambodia: one of the poorest and most corrupt countries on Earth. Tens of millions has been spent and fewer than a handful resettled (unsuccessfully).
This is the policy failure Labor says it would rectify, though neither Mr Shorten nor his immigration spokesman, Richard Marles, have nominated their preferred resettlement countries.
It is the policy failure you are banking on the electorate being content to ignore.
Next Market stall at Bellingen Saturday 21 May 2016
Our next market stall will be at Bellingen market on Saturday 21st May. We are looking for volunteers to assist John and Mike between 9.00 am and 1.00 pm. If you can spare an hour or two, then please email Mike at mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. As usual, we will be giving out information, selling our asylum seeker merchandise, collecting petitions and engaging with the public. A great time, as the election approaches, to promote a more principled, humane and lawful approach to our treatment of asylum seekers.
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On 17 May 2016 Peter Dutton stated that asylum seekers are illiterate and would take local jobs.
I think we should find examples in two directions
a number of asylum seekers come from a rural background and would be able to do jobs for which locals are unwilling to undertake e.g. fruit picking (note the problems raised by taxing backpackers and the effect on harvesting fruit etc).
There are a number of examples of successful integration of refugees in rural communities,
I received a response last week to my letter below dated 11th April
Dear Minister Dutton,
Please find enclosed the details of the 975 people who have recently signed the petition organised by the Bellingen and Nambucca Districts Rural Australians for Refugees.
The petition reads:
"We, the undersigned, are deeply dismayed that the Australian government continues to hold children and their families in indefinite detention. Many of these families have now spent more than two years on Nauru and in immigration detention centres on the mainland. It is time to end this hugely expensive, cruel, immoral and unlawful policy which causes such terrible harm to the innocent victims and to Australia's international reputation. All asylum seekers who are found to be entitled to our protection under international conventions, together with refugee families living "in the community" on Nauru, should be resettled in Australia without delay."
We are, of course, fully aware of recent government action in relation to releasing children and their families from closed detention. We also note that you continue to state that all children and their families who have been brought from Nauru to the mainland for medical treatment will be returned to Nauru once their treatment is completed. This, in spite of widespread public support for allowing them to be resettled in Australia. In addition, we are aware that, as of 5th April 2016, there are still 470 asylum seekers, including 50 children, in the Nauru detention centre, together with a further 870, including more than 100 children, who are "living in the community" on Nauru. You would have us believe that these people are free.
How can that be so, given that they have only temporary visas, are not free to leave the island, and cannot be reunited on Nauru with their families?
It is important that you understand that many Australians, in spite of all the secrecy and political spin, are deeply unhappy with the government's cruel and inhumane treatment of legitimate asylum seekers who have the right to our protection.
We urge you to make a serious and genuine commitment to bring this shameful episode in our history to an end and to announce that offshore detention centres will be closed by the end of 2016.
Yours sincerely,
Mike Griffin
Bellingen and Nambucca Districts RAR Group
Comment on the response below from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
As usual, irregular maritime arrivals (IMAs) are deliberately and wrongly described as “illegal maritime arrivals”, and as always, government policy is framed around deterring people smugglers rather than addressing the rights of asylum seekers and the obligations of the government to afford protection and resettlement to those found to be genuinely eligible for refugee status.
The response continues the practice of attempting to place responsibility for asylum seekers onto the governments of Nauru and PNG, despite legal opinion that regularly reminds our government that this responsibility cannot simply be outsourced. It is plainly untruthful to assert that the government’s responsibilities are limited to providing “assistance through funding and contract management”.
We must keep up the fight until this disgraceful, harmful and unlawful treatment of asylum seekers is brought to an end.
Why should the Detention Centres on Nauru and Manus be closed ?
Indefinite detention causes serious harm to the physical and mental health of
detainees. Self-harm and attempted suicide are becoming routine, such is the
desperation of many asylum seekers.
The majority of Australians now accept that the current policy, supported by the
Liberals, Nationals and Labor, is both cruel and inhumane. Australia is the only
country in the world to detain children who seek asylum as its first option.
It is morally and legally indefensible to detain one group of people indefinitely in
order to act as a deterrent to others who might want to seek asylum in Australia.
The international community continues to remind our government that it is acting
in contravention of our legal obligations under the Refugee Convention.
It is NOT illegal to seek asylum. People fleeing wars and persecution have the
right, in international law, to seek asylum in a safe country.
The current arrangements for offshore detention are costing billions of dollars.
Asylum seekers could be processed onshore for a fraction of the cost. The money
would be better spent on improving our public health and education systems.
How can we put an end to this cruel and inhumane policy ?
Establish regional processing centres in Indonesia and elsewhere under the
auspices of the UNHCR, in order to process asylum seekers in a timely manner and
give them real hope of resettlement in third countries, including Australia.
Increase our humanitarian refugee intake, thereby eliminating the backlog in
Indonesia, where most boat journeys start. Giving people hope, and a clear
pathway to resettlement will discourage them from taking risky journeys by boat.
End the toxic practice of branding asylum seekers as criminals, illegals, terrorists or
queue jumpers. The history of immigration and integration in Australia is largely a
positive one. We have nothing to fear- and there is no queue to jump!
We can do much better than this. Let us stand together for a more humane, lawful and
compassionate asylum policy, and let us demand that the current policy must change.
Published by bellingen.rar@gmail.com. Tel 6569 5419
A first hand account by a worker on Nauru. A shocking but very important read.
Please forward this email to anyone you know personally who is in a position to influence public opinion and policy.
Please find an email sent to a close friend last night and forwarded to me this morning. The person who sent the email is working on Nauru and I have deleted any information that might identify them. My husband and I also know this person who is a professional from Melbourne and is NOT POLITICAL AND NEVER HAS BEEN. This makes this message all the more devastating. I think we need to take action. I await feedback from you. I know you will all treat this email with respect as the person could face a severe penalty for speaking out and is doing good work on Nauru.
Marie Sellstrom President Mansfield RAR
Subject:Sad but true news
They say bad news travels fast. A UNHCR review panel arrived on Monday and was doing some community consultation this morning to assess the refugees situation and conditions to report back to the Australian Government about the progress towards settlement and prospects for longer term residence on Nauru. They got their feedback! Now we can all jump up and down because we have some dramatic news footage and we can see how serious the situation is. But it has been that serious for some time!!! The long term prospects are not good for a host of reasons. It is not a viable solution for the vast majority of people; individuals and families. People who have been declared genuine refugees after exhaustive investigations and reviews in some cases are being given a very raw deal in order to advance and enforce Australia's border control policies. We know we need to "stop the boats" but should these people be the sole/ primary strategy, incarcerated endlessly to justify the government's political agenda. What's Indonesia doing? What are our intelligence people doing? Their navy, our navy? Why should the refugees be held responsible for the actions of others following months /years later? And, we should keep in mind that many of them set forth before the policy, or as the policy changed. They were doing what refugees do; seeking passage to a safe haven by whatever means were available. Many of them had been in transit for some time / years.
People are understandably shocked and distressed having witnessed or heard about the terrible incident today. It is NOT an isolated incident and we know they will continue and increase.
Please do whatever you can to keep up awareness of the issues being faced by people here. It is understandable that the government instigated policies to stop the boat smuggling but the people who have been used as policy "fodder", as scapegoats deserve better....... deserve something!!! Someone's life hangs in the balance tonight. He was not a criminal. He was a refugee.
I want to throw up when Peter Dutton boasts there are no children (that we are responsible for) living in detention. There are. I've seen some of them and I've seen some of the toll that detention on Nauru has taken. Whatever the faults or unfortunate decisions their parents have taken, the children did not choose this path. "That's unfortunate but what can we do?" you might say. Well, we can lobby. We can ring up. We can write. We can talk. We can do something however big or small because so much that is happening here is wrong.
Medical and psychiatric facilities are barely/not? coping with the number of incidents and deterioration of health of many refugees and asylum seekers. Numerous people have been flown out after self harming or attempting suicide. There are insufficient facilities and medications here and many of the emergency situations are handled by the police who are insufficiently trained and ill equipped to deal with severely disturbed and distressed people. They have passed laws..... If you attempt suicide it is against the law and you could go to jail AND be fined.
Lucky they don't have the death penalty for such a heinous crime!!!
I have previously talked with some about the various employment schemes here and a large number of refugees have got work...... some in construction, mining, utility and retail services but the greatest number are working in security........ not where it's needed mind you. There's limited security for the refugees, some of whom have been set upon, assaulted and or robbed in locations or on tracks where they are forced to travel to get from A to B in a feasible time. Vehicles (motor bikes and bicycles), phones and money have been stolen and property has been damaged but much of this goes unreported because the police do little or nothing. They either don't care or don't have the resources to respond adequately. More often the refugees have given up complaining because nothing is done. There is no redress. Many refugees will tell you that they work simply to maintain some sort of routine and their sanity. Many are paid the princely sum of $2.70 per hour (the locals get a little more than that!). In some cases they get an additional living allowance but then you'd need that because apples and bananas can be $12 /$13 a kilo. A mango or an avocado will cost you $5 - $8. Everything here costs approximately 50% more than Australians would pay in Australia..... so go figure how far a weekly salary of $125 will go. Some of the guys working in construction/ mining testify that a lot of the locals clock on, possibly work for a few hours, disappear and return to clock off and collect their 8 hours wage which pays them approx $250+ per week. When the refugees complained about the unfairness of this they were told it was none of their business and they shouldn't be telling the supervisor what he should or shouldn't do. Wouldn't you be mad. I would!
There is so much more I could mention. There are so many injustices and inconsistencies in the way the system operates or doesn't as the case may be. People have been told they would be moving out of the large, extremely hot and un air conditioned tents into better more permanent accommodation but that has taken much longer to come on line than was at first indicated.
There is a shortage of accommodation and shortage of available building sites because many of the Nauruan landholders do not want the refugees here and even if offered a lot of money (believe me heaps has been paid out) they have not agreed to any proposals. There is a whole accommodation block that was built some years ago. It's on someone's land and is sitting idle and empty. The government has apparently taken over responsibility for it but nothing happens quickly here. And...... to all those who think the refugees have got it pretty good with a roof over their heads and a fortnightly allowance..... Have they ever tried to live in a space approx 2m x 4m? with a window(s) that needs to be covered to maintain privacy. I might be wrong but check and tell me the size of a small container.
Sorry to be such a grump but I'm just telling you the facts. I am not huffing and puffing just for the heck of it. I'm glad I'm here and can see what's going on. By the way if there's any suggestion that the Manus Island people could be relocated here, please laugh loudly because it's not feasible. As mentioned by Julian Burnside there is often insufficient water, food and petrol to service the current population. The island simply cannot sustain the increase in Nauruan and refugee populations and their needs. Mind you it's good business for the government. They get $1000 per month for each refugee/asylum seeker they are "hosting". Our accommodation here costs over $200 per night. With us and permanent local residents that runs into 100s of 1000s of dollars a month. The place is falling down...... leaks, rust, mould, cracks, decay. Return fares cost around $2000. Visas for workers $1000. Nauru Airlines having lost a fortune in days of yore is now making a fortune again. It's another cash cow for the government that has spent and promised very little towards improved infrastructure, educational or health facilities for its people. The Australian Government is building a new hospital but things can't happen quickly enough to service the great increase in demand.
So that's it for now. Pass on this information to anyone who might be interested. I guess if i were not working here I might not be so involved in the machinations and goings on of a tiny little island in the middle of nowhere in the Pacific. But, I am. I have to say something to someone. Otherwise I will feel more complicit in the tragic death or injury of the next person and the others that will surely follow if we do not address the situation. Love and best wishes to all. Hope you are all well. So far I'm OK . I really am.
