Bello Nambucca RAR Newsletter 22nd October 2019

Roadside demonstration report

Lies, damn lies, and Minister Dutton

Senator Jacqui Lambie and the medevac legislation  

Another tragic death

 

Roadside demonstration report

It rained for the first twenty minutes of our roadside demonstration in Coffs Harbour last Thursday, but we stuck it out, and eventually the sun appeared. We had a pretty good turnout, and the response from passing motorists was both overwhelmingly positive, and at times enthusiastic! We all agreed that these events are a great way to keep reminding people that there is a better and more humane way to meet our responsibilities to asylum seekers and refugees.

Our next demonstration will be in Bellingen on Thursday 31^st October from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. You will find us at our usual location on Waterfall Way, opposite the entrance to the golf club, adjacent to the Yellow Shed. Please come and join us if you can.

Lies, damn lies, and Minister Dutton

Minister Dutton has taken every opportunity in recent months to try to convince Australians

that it is vitally important for our safety and security that the medevac legislation be repealed. He has repeatedly stated that the medevac law allows murderers, rapists and paedophiles to come to Australia and that the government is powerless to prevent these people arriving on our shores. He told Sky News some months ago that: “people of bad character can come, are able to come and, in fact, are required to come under Labor’s law that they passed. That’s the reality”. The medevac legislation was in fact introduced to parliament by the independent MPs Dr Kerryn Phelps and Andrew Wilkie. Dutton’s frequent statements on TV and radio about his powerlessness to intervene are simply untrue. Under the legislation, the minister can refuse to transfer someone if “the Minister reasonably believes that transferring the person would harm Australia’s security” or “the person has a substantial criminal record and the Minister reasonably believes that the person would expose the Australian community to a serious risk of criminal conduct.”

Last week, Minister Dutton used his powers for the first time to override doctors’ recommendations to transfer an individual, exactly as the law allows. His decision is final and cannot be reviewed.

In the recent Senate review of the legislation, only Dutton’s department put forward a submission in favour of repealing the medevac law.

Senator Jacqui Lambie and the medevac legislation

It is now very clear that Senator Lambie’s vote on the possible repeal of the medevac legislation will be crucial. She is under enormous pressure from government ministers to back the repeal of the legislation, but to her great credit, she has consistently maintained that she will read all the submissions to the Senate enquiry, together with the enquiry reports, and that she will not enter into any deals for Tasmania on this issue. In a recent interview, she stated: “I think any decision over humanity is probably one of the biggest decisions you’ll make.” She is, of course, right, and it is therefore critically important that we, and others, convince her that the only humane response to the government’s push to repeal the legislation is to refuse to support it. The legislation, by all accounts, is helping to save lives, is ensuring that sick people access the treatment that they need, and ensures that decisions about treatment are in the hands of doctors and not bureaucrats. There are sufficient checks and balances in the current law to ensure that requests for medical transfers are properly assessed and, if necessary, reviewed. As we have seen in recent days, the Minister does have the power to intervene on character or security grounds.

If you have not already done so, could you please email Senator Lambie at: senator.lambie@aph.gov.au. to urge her to resist the government’s bid to repeal the medevac legislation. Alternatively, you could phone her office on: 03 6431 3112. You can find a sample letter to Senator Lambie by clicking on the link to our blog at the bottom of this newsletter. 

Another tragic death

Last week, an Afghan asylum seeker, who was a qualified doctor, died in Brisbane. It is

believed that he took his own life. Sayed Mirwais Rohani had been held for four years on Manus Island before being transferred to Australia for medical treatment. He was just 32 years old. His is the 13^th death of a person sent to Manus island or Nauru by our government. We keep on saying: “how many more deaths will it take before our government brings to an end the cruel policy of indefinite offshore detention?” But our government does not listen, and seems not to care.

 

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.

This newsletter is sent to >670 recipients

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