RAR Update - at the end of 2020, a win for a refugee

9 December 2020 Hello to all RAR Members and Supporters – Welcome to this RAR Update.

On December 2, after more than 12 months of legal battles with Home Affairs, the High Court of Australia has ruled that 50 people seeking asylum can take legal action against the government.
This is a defeat for the minister, Peter Dutton. The refugees can now have their cases heard much faster than he would like, and they will try to bring the government to account for the enormous harm caused by its negligence and lack of duty of care.
The National Justice Project thanked everyone who stood with its clients along this journey, but noted “we still have a long way to go until we secure justice and accountability”.
The NJP is also appealing for funds, because taking on a government with deep pockets and no qualms about slowing down the course of justice in the courts is costly. The costs of the expert medical and psychological reports for the nearly 50 cases to be put to the Federal Court are typically between $5,000 and $10,000 per report. You can donate to support the fight.

Human Rights Day
Thursday December 10 is Human Rights Day.  The RAR Human Rights Sub-committee have made seven short videos with people of lived experience to ask them:  What does human rights mean to you?
We plan to put these videos on the RAR Facebook page - one new video a day for seven days.  Short powerful videos to highlight Human Rights.
We ask you and your members to:

·  watch these videos and share them to your Facebook friends each day for seven days (10 Dec - 16 Dec) ·  if you don't have access to Facebook, go to the RAR website www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au   There will be a link on the homepage to take you to the videos. Share them in whatever way you can.  They will be on YouTube so the link can be shared through emails. These videos aim to bring human rights down to the level of our everyday lives.  Please circulate these as widely as you can over this time. Use the hashtag #humanrightsmatter  when you share.   #TimeforaHome Refugees continue to be locked up by the Australian Government in detention centres and hotel prisons. With our #5/6/7YearsTooLong actions we have highlighted deaths among refugees in offshore detention. But the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre reports that altogether 45 lives have been needlessly lost in detention since 2010, and that in the last 5 years there have been 4,500 assaults on refugees by guards in detention centres. The “alternative places of detention”, the Mantra hotels on Bell street in Preston, Melbourne, and at Kangaroo Point in Brisbane, have been prisons to people seeking asylum for almost two years now. Imagine the stress and mental torment of being locked up in a hotel room indefinitely, with no space to exercise outside, no kitchen to make meals, no fresh air, no access to basic needs and with no plan for your release. The refugees’ lives are being stolen. Yet they are being punished for speaking out against the inhumane conditions they are forced to live in. About 20 refugees from Kangaroo Point have been sent to BITA, the higher security “normal” detention centre in Brisbane, with those who have spoken out appearing to be targeted for removal. We can support the #TimeForAHome campaign, which RAR has endorsed. Already, many groups have sent cards to politicians supporting the return of the Biloela family from detention on Christmas Island to their home town.

 

Urged by Jan, Bendigo RAR hosted a National RAR Conference in September 2016, the first since 2005. From this Conference two projects were launched – the Welcome Scroll, and a new national refugee network. Jan suggested a network incorporate all grassroots refugee groups across Australia, (based on the RAR network model). So a 4-person working group was established, with Jan representing RAR, and a representative from 2 other key networks – the Refugee Advocacy Network (RAN), and the Combined Refugee Action Group (CRAG- Geelong) – and Canberra RAC. The Australian Refugee Action Network (ARAN) held its inaugural conference six months later. Jan has served on both the ARAN and RAR National Committees. Jan is also the driving force behind The Welcome Scroll Project and since 2016 has travelled to WA, SA, ACT, NSW and southern QLD to gather signatures from the Mayors of 127 local councils. The Welcome Scroll Project is a joint initiative of RAR, the Refugee Council and Refugee Welcome Zones to confirm Local Government commitment to welcome refugees into our communities. The scroll is now seven metres long! Next stop Tasmania! The RAR National Committee, and the extensive network of RAR groups would not exist today without Jan’s vision, initiative and tireless work. There is no more fitting person to take up the December award for Unsung Hero than Jan. We thank you Jan, and hold you in our deepest respect and affection. Jan is currently writing the history of RAR. Jan’s words: I recently heard someone from Amnesty International describe that an organisation as being made of “bricks and mortar” – the “bricks” being the people working in the community, and the “mortar” being the backroom people, the “glue” that holds the “bricks” together. I feel enormous admiration for the people who are the “bricks” in our refugee movement, those who work directly with refugees and people seeking asylum, and see myself more as part of the “glue” – the glue that provides information, cohesion, and ultimately the strength of unity, to the national refugee movement. Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre Despite the difficulties of 2020, the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre, which many of you would know from The Staging Post, has continued to support the education of nearly 1000 refugee children through its school and to form community hubs for more than 3000 refugees. Indeed, refugees in Bangkok have also been inspired by the film to start a small learning centre there. We can help to grow this idea further in 2021. See links to videos here and the fundraising page. Team Rebuild Macedon Ranges RAR has a material aid group which supports two refugee families. One of those families, after more than seven years in detention, has reluctantly decided it must look beyond Australia for any hope to rebuild their lives. Kamal and his family have been denied any hope of ever rebuilding their lives in Australia, so now they are looking to Canada for a future they cannot have here. Team Rebuild is supporting their application for private sponsorship resettlement in Canada. It has already established a partnership with a group of seven sponsors in Ottawa and a sub-fund of the Australian Communities Foundation to receive tax deductible gifts (more than $2) towards the AUD$40,000 needed to allow the application to be considered. Team Rebuild advocate Jean Ker Walsh hopes RAR groups will see this as worthy of their consideration. You can help save five lives. Use this link to donate. In the event that the fundraising target is exceeded, or the Canadian resettlement plan is not realised, your gift will support the ongoing needs of this family and others supported by Team Rebuild and the Brigidine Asylum Seeker Project in Australia.   Jonathan Strauss Rural Australians for Refugees Australia Phone: 0437 790 306 E: secretary.rar.australia@gmail.com Rural Australians for Refugees on Twitter and Facebook. RAR is a member of the Australian Refugee Action Network     Our mailing address is: rar.australia@gmail.com

Rural Australians for Refugees · 10 Draper Place · Whitfield, QUEENSLAND 4870 · Australia

 

Poor response to letter from Acting Minister Tudge

"I’ve just received this response from Acting Minister Tudge, which completely avoids the issue. My request was that he should use his ministerial powers to intervene in this case on humanitarian grounds.  He has not answered the question!" M.

Dear Mr G....

Thank you for your correspondence of 23 November 2020 to the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs,
the Hon Alan Tudge MP. The Hon Alan Tudge MP appreciates the time you have taken to bring this matter to his attention and has asked that I reply on his behalf.

Thank you for your letter of support for the Udawatta family.

In accordance with the Privacy Act 1988, it would be inappropriate to provide you with any further details about the status of this matter.

I can assure you that Australia takes its international obligations seriously and provides protection consistent with these obligations, as set out in the Migration Act 1958.

An assessment of whether an asylum seeker engages Australia’s protection obligations is not based on broad assumptions about the safety of particular countries. Each case is assessed on its merits, using the most current and relevant country of origin information.

Information regarding Ministerial Intervention can be found on the Department of Home Affairs’ website via the following links:

 https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/status-resolution-service/ministerial- intervention; and

 https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/refugee-and-humanitarian- program/onshore-protection/protection-visa-cancelled.

4 National Circuit Barton ACT 2600
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 • Telephone: 02 6264 1111 • www.homeaffairs.gov.au

Ref No: MC20-038467

Thank you for bringing your concerns to the Hon Alan Tudge MP’s attention.

Yours sincerely 

(an indeciperable signature)

Director

Humanitarian Contracts Management Section Humanitarian Program Capability Branch
7 December 2020

 

 

Our December Newsletter for 2020

 

ACCOMMODATION CRISIS IN COFFS HARBOUR   Coffs Harbour is in the middle of a major housing crisis. There has been an influx of people from the city which has put a strain on an already tight market. Many rental properties have been sold, resulting in leases being terminated and the renters being evicted. Christmas has traditionally been a very difficult time to rent, but this year is much worse. A worker from one of the NGO groups that works with refugees in Coffs has told us that their service alone currently has four refugee families that are either homeless, or will be, in the coming 4-6 weeks. He told us:   "This is the tip of the iceberg, and I know of numerous other refugee families not with our service who are in the same predicament. These include : A family of 3 adults, including elderly mother, couch surfing. A family of 6, including new baby, in a long term, tiny cabin.  A family of 9, 4 weeks left before eviction. A family of 6, including elderly parents. 6 weeks before eviction.  These families are genuine refugees who have sought and received refuge in Australia from trouble spots around the world from Africa to Syria and Myanmar. They are accustomed to paying rent in the range of $350 to $560 depending on the size of the rental property.   CAN YOU HELP? DO YOU HAVE A PROPERTY YOU COULD LEASE TO A FAMILY IN NEED? PLEASE EMAIL bellingen.rar@gmail.com or RING MARGARET at 0414 592 519 Note :  there are no cabins, caravans or hotel/motel rooms available in Coffs Harbour at all.     Please sign this petition requesting Coffs Council to open Coffs Showgrounds for local homeless families Copy and paste this link  https://www.change.org/p/coffs-harbour-council-open-coffs-harbour-showgrounds-for-local-homeless-individuals-families-to-sleep-safely?fbclid=IwAR0YduP4dtvyWtTn7r_EtQ_43TaOvsvyAZ859VsyOAR0t9AIGsJvo20tpLU Kate Wickman started this petition to Coffs Harbour City Council (Local Gov) and 5 others Homeless individuals and families who have not been able to secure housing/accommodation, due to lack of availability, should be allowed to have somewhere safe to sleep in their CARS at night whilst they await approval for the rental properties they have applied for. Individuals moving out of cities are being given preference over LOCAL FAMILIES in the rental housing market and as a result many are now homeless due to NO FAULT of their own. VALLA BEACH MARKET REPORT   We had a very successful time at Valla Beach market on Saturday. The sun shone, the crowds arrived and we had a busy time talking to market-goers, selling our merchandise and getting people to send greetings to parliamentarians, asking them to free the Biloela family by Christmas. People were also very generous with their donations, and we will make our final donation of 2020 to the asylum Seekers Centre in the days ahead. Hopefully, in the New Year, we will be able to plan a number of fundraising activities, particularly as we can now invite up to fifty people to a private house. A big thank you to the market organisers and to our team of supporters for helping to make the morning so successful.  ROADSIDE DEMONSTRATION REPORT   Just a small number of us braved the heat last Saturday for our demonstration on the Pacific Highway next to the Big Banana. Fortunately, there was a strong, cooling breeze to sustain us, and the reaction from motorists, as always, was overwhelmingly positive, and at times enthusiastic! Our final demonstration for 2020 will take place by the Pacific Highway, opposite the base hospital In Coffs Harbour on Saturday 12th December from 10.00 am until 11.30 am.  Please come and join us if you can, and show your solidarity for the plight of the thousands of asylum seekers and refugees who continue to suffer terribly under our government’s punitive and cruel immigration policy. ANOTHER GENEROUS DONATION    Following his successful exhibition at the Nexus Gallery in October-November, one of our supporters, Jeremy Barrett, has very kindly donated $600 from the sale of his work to RAR, which we will forward to the ASC together with any final income from sales and donations at the Valla Beach market. This will undoubtedly be a welcome end-of-year gift to the ASC, who need every dollar that supporters can raise during these very challenging times.  A big thank you to Jeremy for his generous gift.   THE UDAWATTA FAMILY FROM KEMPSEY   In our newsletter two weeks ago, we described the plight of the Udawatta family, who face deportation following the death of the father of the family in September. We urged supporters to contact our local MP, Pat Conaghan and the Acting minister for Immigration, Alan Tudge. At the time of writing, we have received a reply from Pat Conaghan MP, assuring us that he has made representations to the Minister on behalf of the family and that he will continue do all he can to ensure that they remain in Australia.   That is very encouraging and positive news. You might wish to thank Pat Conaghan for his timely intervention, and ask him to continue to advocate for the family to stay.   We have not, to date, received any response from the minister’s office. Could you therefore please consider phoning Alan Tudge’s office? *Tell them that you are aware that Pat Conaghan has made representations on behalf of the Udawatta family. *Ask whether the Minister has made a decision to intervene to allow the family to stay in Australia. *Tell him that this is an urgent issue, and that you know that he has the power to intervene. Emphasise that the Kempsey community is fully supportive of the family and that they are hoping that the Minister will make a decision before Christmas. You can find letters to both politicians by clicking on the link to our blog at the end of this newsletter. Pat Conaghan’s phone number:  6277 4446 (Canberra), or 6652 6233 (Coffs Harbour).  Alan Tudge’s phone number:  6277 7790 (Canberra) or 03 9887 3890 (electoral office). THE BILOELA FAMILY If you happened to be listening to RN last Thursday morning, you might have heard a report by Fran Kelly about the continuing plight of this Sri Lankan family of four, who have now spent more than 1000 days in detention after being snatched from their home in Biloela in March 2018, where they had been living for a number of years. The family have been held in detention on Christmas Island for well over a year. The two young daughters are accompanied to school by guards each day, and their lives are both precarious and miserable.   The Biloela community has fought long and hard to persuade the government to grant the family leave to stay in the country and the town that they call home, but to no avail. Minister Dutton, true to form, is utterly dismissive of the family’s and the community’s pleas for compassion. He has made it clear that the family is not welcome here, and accuses them of “trying every trick in the book” to avoid deportation. At our market stall in Valla Beach on Saturday, we gave out specially-made Christmas cards, provided by our national RAR committee, to send to politicians about the Biloela family. The message inside reads:   3 years after Asylum seekers Nades, Priya and their two daughters, Kopika and Tharunicaa were taken by Border Force from their newly adopted home in Biloela Queensland in March 2018. They are still in detention. Despite strong support from the people of Biloela and the wider Australian community, the government continues to deny them residency. We ask that the children will not face another year in detention and that they will be safely home in Biloela by Christmas. You might like to send your own Christmas cards, using these words, to the politician of your choice. Pat Conaghan MP: PO Box 2056, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450 Peter Dutton MP: PO Box 2012, Strathpine, Queensland 4500 Alan Tudge MP:  Suite 4, Level 1, 420, Burwood Highway, Wantima South, VIC 3152 TEMPORARY: THE PODCAST   This new project is produced by UNSW’s Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, initiated with support from the Collier Charitable Fund, and features an eight-episode narrative podcast series from the UNSW Centre for Ideas and Guardian Australia. Temporary offers rare access and intimate understanding of people navigating Australia’s refugee system, with no way to secure permanent protection. In their own voice, each refugee and asylum seeker speaks from a shadowy legal limbo of Australia’s creation. You can listen to the podcast series by clicking on this link: https://temporary.kaldorcentre.net.    We have about 100 postcards to distribute, provided by national RAR, for you to send to politicians. We’ll be handing them out at our markets in the months ahead, and we hope that you will join the campaign to impress on politicians that we want an end to the punitive and inhumane policy which inflicts so much suffering on people who have fled their homelands to seek a safe haven in Australia. We need to send a strong message that we will not vote for this cruel policy. 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 >630 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

Letter to Pat Conaghan MP re Udawatta family

From: Conaghan, Pat (MP) <Pat.Conaghan.MP@aph.gov.au>

Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2020 11:20 AM
To: M.
Subject: RE: The Udawatta family

 Dear M.

Thanks for your email.

I can assure you I have made representations to the Minister regarding the Udawatta family. Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with information regarding the progress of the matter due to privacy reasons.

 It was Raj’s final wish to see his family safe and supported in the community which is their home, and I will continue to do all I can to ensure this happens.

 Yours sincerely,

 PAT CONAGHAN MP

Federal Member for Cowper

From: M...
Sent: Wednesday, 25 November 2020 

To: Conaghan, Pat (MP) <Pat.Conaghan.MP@aph.gov.au>
Subject: The Udawatta family

 

Dear Mr Conaghan,

I recently watched the 7.30 Report news item about the plight of the Udawatta family, and listened the following morning to your interview with Hamish McDonald. I felt greatly encouraged by your expression of support and compassion for Florence Udawatta and her children.

As you stated in the interview, it should not be  necessary for the family to wait eighteen months or more for a decision by the Acting Minister for Immigration regarding the appeal against the decision to not grant them a Protection Visa. In any event, as you will know as a former immigration lawyer, their chances of being granted a Protection Visa, given the circumstances of their arrival in Australia, are virtually zero. The Acting Minister, as you stated, has the power under the Immigration Act to grant the family a permanent visa on compassionate grounds. I was very pleased to note that you have stated that there is no case for sending them back to Sri Lanka, and that the Minister should allow them to stay. They are a much-loved and highly respected family in the local Kempsey community.

I trust that you have made formal representations to the Acting Minister and that you have sought an early decision in this very sad case.

I would be grateful if you could update me at some point on the progress with your representations to Alan Tudge. It would be wonderful if the family could have some certainty very soon about their future, given all that they have had to endure during Raj Adawatta’s illness and subsequent death in September.

Yours sincerely,

M.

Valla Beach NSW 2448