Ross Hart MP reply to open letter to Bill Shorten

      

_{10 May 2018}

_{Mike Griffin
Bellingen and Nambucca District RAR}

_{By email M&M.Griffin2@bigpond.com Dear Mr Griffin}

_{RE OFF SHORE PROCESSING POLICY}

_{Thank you very much for your letter of 18 April 2018 sent to my Parliament House office.}

_{I commend you for the steps that you are taking to advocate for change. I do not accept, neither does the Labor Party accept that indefinite detention is necessary or appropriate. Those presently on Nauru and Manus Island must be resettled to third countries and their detention should not be used as a deterrent against people smuggling.}

_{I do believe that it is necessary for a newly elected Labor government to focus upon resettlement of those presently in detention but also to increase funding to the UNHCR and also increase the number of refugees that will be accepted through the refugee stream.}

_{It is or should be to the eternal shame of the Australian public that refugees and asylum seekers have been used as political tools. The government will, nevertheless, continue its policy of demonising refugees and asylum seekers, despite the fact that conflict, wars and famine continue to create significant streams of refugees internationally.}

_{Thank you once again for writing to me. I have made my views publicly known even before my election to federal parliament. Please maintain your efforts in changing public attitude to indefinite detention.}

_{Yours sincerely}

_{Ross Hart MP}

_{Member for Bass}

_{Electorate Office: 100 St John Street, Launceston, Tas 7250 Postal: PO Box 5035, Launceston, Tas 7250
Phone: +61 3 6334 7033 | Fax: + 61 3 6334 7055
Email: ross.hart.mp@aph.gov.au}

_{Authorised by Ross Hart Launceston}

_{rosshartmp.com}

_{alp.org.au
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