PRESS RELEASE
Hartsuyker stands by Coalition’s asylum policy
A delegation representing the 500-strong local
Rural Australians for Refugees group met on Tuesday 24th January with our
Federal MP Luke Hartsuyker. The purpose of the meeting was to present him with
a petition, signed by some 400 local people, which calls on the government to
close the offshore centres on Manus Island and Nauru. The two centres have a
history of inflicting untold harm and suffering on the detainees, who are held
there indefinitely, at great financial cost to the Australian taxpayer. These
people have committed no crime. They have fled wars and persecution in their
home countries to seek safety for themselves and their families, as is their
right under international law. The three-person delegation spent half an hour
talking to Mr Hartsuyker – who remained passive and silent throughout – about
the inhumanity, immorality and illegality of punishing men, women and children
through a deliberate policy of cruelty aimed at deterring others from reaching
our shores. They reminded Mr Hartsuyker about the countless reports and
accounts of the conditions for asylum seekers in offshore detention, all of
which paint a clear and consistent picture of a system which is deliberately
designed to harm people and to break their spirits.
At the end of the meeting, when asked to comment,
Mr Hartsuyker reiterated the Coalition’s policy of protecting our borders,
stopping the boats, and saving lives at sea. He steadfastly refused to be
drawn on the reality of the cruelty and suffering inflicted on asylum seekers
in offshore detention, where self-harm, physical and sexual abuse are daily
occurrences, and where suicides and preventable deaths seem to be the acceptable
price to be paid to help to “keep us safe”. He also refused to entertain the
idea that other, more humane, courses of action might be preferable.
A spokesperson for the group, Mike Griffin,
commented: "We explained to Mr Hartsuyker that we have long since lost
count of the number of people who approach us at our market stalls to tell us
that the government’s cruel policy on asylum seekers makes them feel ashamed to
call themselves Australian. Sadly, Mr Hartsuyker was not interested. It appears
that moral leadership and principle are woefully lacking in the current
political climate.”
Bellingen and Nambucca Districts Rural Australians
for Refugees.
Contact: Mike Griffin, 39, Rogers Drive, Valla
Beach NSW 2448. Tel 6569 5419
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