Valla Beach market report
Bush, Beach and Bash update
Roadside demonstration: Thursday 12th December, Coffs Harbour
World Human Rights Day: Tuesday 10th December
Medevac laws repealed
Medevac. So, what is the “secret deal”?
Saturday’s
market was a busy event, with lots of people arriving to buy their
fresh fruit and vegetables and hunt for Christmas presents. We had an
excellent spot under the trees in a busy location and there were many
visitors to our stall. People were very keen to sign our open letter to
the Prime Minister, and many of them expressed their anger and despair
at the repeal of the medevac legislation in the Senate last week. A big
thank you to the thirteen supporters who turned up at different times to
lend a hand. We remain a strong and resilient team!
This
was our final market for 2019. We will post details of our market
calendar for 2020 in the first newsletter of the new year, but in the
meantime, you might like to put the Bellingen market on Saturday 18th January 2020 in your diary.
Bush, Beach and Bash update
Following
last week’s social and fundraising event, we received a further $60 in
donations from supporters who were unable to attend, bringing the total
raised to $965. We’ll give you a final update on our 2019 fundraising
for the Asylum Seekers Centre in next week’s newsletter.
Roadside demonstration: Thursday 12th December, Coffs Harbour
Our final roadside demonstration for the year will be this Thursday, 12th
December, by the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, opposite the base
hospital, from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. Please join us if you can, to help us
show our steadfast commitment to the refugees and asylum seekers in
Australia and offshore who continue to suffer at the hands of our cruel
government, which seems to be completely lacking in empathy and
compassion.
World Human Rights Day: Tuesday 10th December
World Human Rights Day is a day that marks the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights – a document which our government
helped to write. Our nation signed up to uphold and protect the human
rights of all people, including those who came here to seek asylum.
Instead, our government’s punitive laws and policies are deliberately
designed to humiliate and punish some of the most vulnerable people on
the planet who fled their countries to seek safety and protection on our
shores. Instead of helping them, we have created systems aimed at
crushing their spirits, ruining their health and forcing many of them to
return to danger, in clear contravention of our international
obligations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes:
Article
1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one
another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.
Article 14. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
It
is clear, and deeply shameful, that our government is falling well
short of the obligations that it entered into when it signed up to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Medevac laws repealed
Sadly,
but perhaps predictably, Senator Lambie sided with the government last
week, thereby allowing the repeal of the medevac legislation. Once
again, it will be bureaucrats, rather than doctors, who will make
decisions about whether or not a detainee on Nauru or in PNG should be
transferred to Australia for medical treatment which cannot be
adequately provided offshore.
All
the evidence is that the medevac legislation was working exactly as it
was meant to do. Lives have undoubtedly been saved. We now return to the
previous regime, where deliberate delays are built into the system, and
where the recommendations of doctors will be routinely overridden by
bureaucrats in Canberra. As before, lawyers will have to intervene on
behalf of patients, and, as before, the government will spend hundreds
of thousands of taxpayers’ money in the courts in futile attempts to
prevent transfers. And for what, we are entitled to ask? The only
explanation seems to be that the government simply wants to demonstrate,
yet again, that it is tough on “border security”, that only the
Coalition can keep us safe, and that Labor cannot be trusted. In the
end, it is all about politics, and has nothing at all to do with the
humane treatment of sick refugees, who are but pawns in their games. It
is a truly shameful and tragic state of affairs.
Interestingly,
four doctors on the Coalition benches voted for the repeal of the
legislation, notwithstanding their professional obligations to do no
harm and to treat sick people without discrimination. They are Dr Katie
Allen, who is a paediatrician, Dr Fiona Martin, who is a psychologist,
Dr David Gillespie and Dr Andrew Laming. They all voted to give the
power to assess the medical condition of seriously ill people to
non-medical professionals. A staggering example of the power of ideology
and self-interest to usurp professional ethics.
Medevac. So, what is the “secret deal”?
Much
has been made in recent days of the so-called secret deal between
Senator Lambie and the government, which vehemently denies that any deal
exists. The consensus seems to be that a deal to resettle some refugees
in New Zealand is finally on the table. But the government has been
shifting its position on the NZ offer for some time. From a position of
“this is never going to happen”, we received a letter from the Director
of Regional Processing and Resettlement on 4th October, in which he states: “Australia
appreciates the offer from the New Zealand Government to resettle
refugees, however we are focused on completing the larger arrangement
with the United States.” It is therefore
reasonable to conclude that, once the US resettlement programme has run
its course, the government will finally engage with the New Zealand
government to resettle refugees in NZ. However, it is important to note
that, since last week, government ministers have constantly referred to
“getting people off Nauru.” There is no mention of the several hundred
men in PNG, which is deeply concerning. We need to be very alert to
this, and be prepared to campaign strongly in the New Year to get all
refugees on Nauru and in PNG to places of safety.
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