Bellingen Market Stall - Sat 21st Jan
Letter from Tanya Plibersek MP
Human rights watch report card 2017
Our next market: Bellingen, Saturday 21st January
A reminder that our next market is this Saturday in Bellingen. John and Mike will be setting up the stall at 7.00 am, and we are looking for helpers from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. If you can spare an hour or so to give a hand, then please let Mike know at:mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. We will be collecting signatures on a new national RAR petition in addition to selling merchandise, handing out new leaflets and talking to market goers. It’s a great opportunity to interact with the public and to continue to publicise the terrible reality of our government’s asylum policy. You will find us near to the live music stage and the food stalls, at pitch C 48. Please drop by to say hello if you are visiting the market.
Letter from Tanya Plibersek MP
During the Christmas break, we finally received a response from Tanya Plibersek, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, to our October letter about the plight of asylum seekers and refugees. It is a lengthy response, which seeks to differentiate Labor’s policy from that of the Coalition. Clearly, there are differences between the two groups’ positions, but critically, the Labor party remains wedded to the policy of boat turn-backs and offshore detention which has become a policy of indefinite detention over the years. The letter , which you can find on our blog, ends as follows: “Once again, thank you for taking time to write to me, and for your advocacy on this important issue. Please pass on my best wishes to all in Rural Australians or Refugees.”
It is fair to say that Tanya Plibersek’s letter is quite different in tone and content from the response we received from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which you can also find on our blog.
Human Rights Watch Report Card 2017
Last week, Human Rights Watch published its annual update on the state of human rights around the world, and once again Australia came in for severe criticism over its asylum policy. The governments of Australia and PNG are criticised for the fact that no steps have been taken to date to close the Manus Island detention centre, in spite of the fact that the PNG supreme court declared it to be illegal under the country’s constitution. HRW calls for the centre’s closure and for the immediate resettlement of detainees in Australia or a suitable third country. They report: “ Refugees and asylum seekers on Manus have suffered enough; it’s time to let them move on with their lives in safety and dignity.” The report goes on to describe Australia’s policy of offshore detention as “draconian”, stating that people are held in abusive and dangerous conditions.
There is no chapter on Nauru, but HRW’s Australia director, Elaine Pearson, says: “There has been an absence of accountability for violence and harassment faced by refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru, and in fact senior officials have simply denied such abuses took place rather than investigating allegations. More broadly, there has been an erosion of democracy and the rule of law.”
It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.
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