Letter to Minister Peter Dutton MP 2 May 2019

_{Valla Beach}
 NSW 2448

₂^nd _{May 2019}

_{Dear Minister Dutton,}

_{Please find enclosed an open letter, addressed to you, which has been signed by 775 people.} 

_{These are everyday Australians who are deeply concerned about the Coalition government’s harsh and cruel treatment of asylum seekers and refugees on Manus and Nauru. To use people, who have committed no crime, for the purely political purpose of appearing to be tough in order to garner votes, is unconscionable and shameful.}

_{The open letter reads as follows:}

_{“We are pleased to note that, in response to public concern, your government has now removed almost all the refugee and asylum seeker children from Nauru. But that is not enough. Some 1,000 people remain trapped on Nauru and Manus. Many of them have been refused entry to the US, thereby adding to their despair. Many of them have serious medical health issues, which are a direct consequence of their indefinite detention, and medical expertise for their treatment offshore is woefully inadequate.}

_{We therefore call on you to finally show some humanity and compassion. These detainees should be brought to Australia without further delay, pending their resettlement in Australia, New Zealand, the US, or other safe countries prepared to accept them. They pose no threat to our border security. This shameful treatment of asylum seekers and refugees must end as a matter of real urgency.”}

_{It is time to bring this shameful chapter in our history to an end.}

                                                                                                             

_{Yours sincerely,}

                                                                                   

 _{Mike Griffin}

 _{Bellingen and Nambucca District Rural Australians for Refugees}