RAR (Bellingen-Nambucca) Newsletter July 2, 2019

In this newsletter:

Roadside demonstration report

National RAR letter writing appeal

Fundraising Concert: Sunday 28^th July at 2.00 pm, Nambucca Community and Arts Centre

Life in Australia for medical evacuees

Senator Jacqui Lambie

 

Roadside demonstration report

We were fewer in number last week in Coffs Harbour, but we nonetheless made our presence felt and received lots of support from passing motorists. A big thank you to our supporters for turning up for what was forecast to be a rainy afternoon. Fortunately, the rain held off until later in the day. Our next roadside demonstration will be on Waterfall Way in Bellingen, adjacent to the Yellow Shed, opposite the entrance to the golf club, on Thursday 11^th July, from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. Please join us if you can.

National RAR letter writing appeal

You will be aware from earlier newsletters that there is growing opposition in Papua New Guinea to the continued presence of Australia’s refugees and asylum seekers on PNG soil. The governor of Manus, the Catholic bishops, and, more recently the new Prime Minister James Marape, have expressed their concerns. The time therefore seems ripe for us to urge the PNG government to finally draw a line under this shameful and ongoing tragedy and to demand that the Australian government finally accepts its responsibility for the remaining detainees trapped in PNG. Could you please therefore consider writing to the PNG Prime Minister, James Marape, and urge him to resolve the current unsustainable situation for asylum seekers and refugees held on Manus island. You might wish to include some of the following:

• Congratulate Mr Marape on his recent appointment.
• Tell him that his appointment provides him with the opportunity to resolve the unsustainable situation for the men currently detained on Manus island.
• Ask him to close the detention centres as recommended by many, in particular the Secretary of the PNG Bishops’ Conference.
• Emphasise that indefinitely detaining hundreds of men inevitably leads to despair, more attempted suicides, more deaths and ongoing negative international attention.
• Remind him of the responsibility under the International Charter of Human Rights to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people held on Manus island.
• Acknowledge that it is shameful for the Australian government to claim that the responsibility for the present situation lies with the PNG government. 
  • Ask Mr Marape to insist on a definite timeline for the closure of the Manus island facilities and the relocation of the detainees to a place of safety and security.
   
  National RAR asks that we email The Hon James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, at: info@primeministersoffice.gov.pg, and that we post our letters to the following address:
  The Hon James Marape,
  Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament House,
  Magani Crescent,
  Port Moresby National Capital District,
  Papua New Guinea.
  You can find a sample letter on our blog by clicking on the link at the end of this newsletter.
  
  
  Fundraising Concert: Sunday 28^th July at 2.00 pm, Nambucca Community and
  
  Arts Centre
  
  
  
  We hope that you already have this date in your diaries! You can look forward to a most enjoyable afternoon of music. Talented young musicians from Bellingen High School, comprising a string quartet, a jazz ensemble and the Bellingen Youth Orchestra Sinfonia, will be joined by local professional singer-songwriters Snez and Stewart. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students, and no charge for children under 10. Tickets are available from Helloworld Travel on Bowra Street in Nambucca Heads, or on the door on concert day. If you wish to reserve tickets in advance, to be collected and paid for on the door, then please email Mike at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. or phone him on 6569 5419.
  
  
  We plan to have a raffle at the concert, and so far, we have a lovely watercolour painting to offer. If you can donate a prize for the raffle, then please let Marlene know by emailing her at: marlene.griffin46@bigpond.com. 
•  

We are also looking for helpers to assist with the organisation on the afternoon of the concert. If you are able to help out, then please get in touch with Marlene.

• We hope to raise a four-figure sum for the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown, who do such good work in supporting asylum seekers in our capital city.
  
  
  Life in Australia for medical evacuees
  
  
  
  Shocking stories have emerged in recent days about the treatment of people who have been brought to Australia from Nauru and Manus for medical treatment. People who have been brought to Australia for treatment find themselves confined to cheap accommodation, surrounded by SERCO guards, who sit permanently in corridors and who routinely enter people’s rooms at night. Leaving the accommodation for any reason involves invasive body cavity searches by security staff. A Guardian report states that people are being held in dirty and comfortless situations and are moved around repeatedly and arbitrarily between detention centres and cities. One detainee says that she and her family spent six weeks in the Brisbane detention centre transit accommodation and were then sent to a hotel in the Brisbane CBD for another eight weeks. Afterwards they were sent to Adelaide for almost three months, and now have been in transit accommodation in Melbourne for more than two months, and counting. How can seriously mentally unwell people be expected to recover from the trauma of fleeing their country and of indefinite detention when our government treats them with such callous indifference?
  
  
  Senator Jacqui Lambie
  
  
  Last week we asked our supporters to get in touch with our local MP to urge that he
  
  NOT support the overturning of the medivac legislation. We also indicated that the vote of Senator Jacqui could be crucial in keeping the legislation in place, but we couldn’t give you her contact details. It appears that the relevant details will not be updated on the government’s website until the new parliament is sworn in. We don’t therefore, as yet, have a phone number for senator Lambie, but you can email her at: senator.lambie@aph.gov.au. It’s possible that the matter will not come before the Senate until next week. 
  
  
  

  Go to Model Letter to PNG Prime Minister Marape

   

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  Check out the index of subjects on our blog http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au
  It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.
  
  
  Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/
  (579 likes)
  
  
  Twitter Account @RARBellingenNam
  Email address bellingen.rar@gmail.com
  The National RAR web site is at  www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au 
  The National RAR facebook site is at  RAR Facebook