Letter to Senator Keneally re Labor's unsatisfactory policy

 

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                   Valla Beach,

                                                                                                                    NSW 2448

                                                                                    

                                                                                                            26^th April 2021

Dear Senator Keneally,

I was very heartened to read about your recent visit to Christmas Island to meet with Nades, Priya and their two young daughters. The ongoing detention of this family, at great expense to Australian taxpayers, makes no sense at all. It is cruel, unnecessary and vindictive. Your call for the family to be returned to Biloela has significant community and cross-party support. We can but hope that the new Minister for Home Affairs, Karen Andrews, will exercise some compassion and humanity, and will finally allow the family to return to Biloela, where they will be welcomed with open arms.

I was, however, deeply disheartened by your unequivocal restatement of Labor’s policy on asylum seekers: that under a Labor government, boats would continue to be turned back; that offshore processing (a euphemism for indefinite offshore detention) would continue; and that asylum seekers arriving by boat would never be resettled in Australia.

It is precisely this policy, initiated by a Labor government, which has condemned thousands of asylum seekers – most of whom have been found to qualify for our protection – to eight years of torment and trauma, which continues to this day. A policy which has resulted in a number of deaths, hundreds of self-harming events, and serious mental health issues.

It is clear from your statement that a future Labor government is promising more of the same.

If you are genuinely serious about treating vulnerable people with compassion and respect, then Labor Party policy clearly needs a significant and principled reset, rooted in respect for human rights and a commitment to upholding our international obligations. A good starting point would be for the Party to demand the immediate evacuation of all the refugees and asylum seekers who remain in PNG and on Nauru, given that both these locations are demonstrably unsafe for these people. Secondly, the Party should demand that all the people transferred from Nauru and PNG for medical treatment should be immediately released into the community, with the necessary support to enable them to rebuild their shattered lives.

Serious policy action, rather than a visit to Christmas Island, however commendable, is what so many of us in the community are looking to from the Labor Opposition.

Is that too much to expect?

Yours sincerely,

 

Mike G

 

                                                                                   

                                                                                               

Letter from Asylum Seekers Resource Centre.

 

 

 

 

21st of April 2020

Bellingen & Nambucca District RAR Mike ....
Valla Beach NSW 2448

Dear Mike,

I would like to personally thank you and everyone involved at Bellingen & Nambucca District RAR’s recent Fundraising Lunch and Auction. $3750 is a tremendous outcome and we enjoyed seeing the photos of the event. We look forward to hearing more from Bellingen & Nambucca District RAR and are continuously inspired by your dedication and creative efforts to support people seeking asylum.

The risk of homelessness and financial desperation has increased for people seeking asylum during Covid-19. Bellingen & Nambucca District RAR’s ongoing support helps ensure the centre continues to be a safe place that people seeking asylum can turn to. We have remained open throughout the pandemic, we could not have done it without your support.

Once again, please thank everyone at Bellingen & Nambucca District RAR on behalf of all of us at ASC.

Warm regards,

Frances Rush OAM CEO

Mobile: 0481 896 571 Office: 02 9078 1900 Fax: 02 9078 1999

Asylum Seekers Centre Becher House, 43 Bedford Street Newtown NSW 2042 Visit our Website Like us on Facebook!

An urgent appeal by RACS (Refugee Advice and Casework Service)

We have been notified that the Department of Home Affairs is unexpectedly expediting interviews for people seeking asylum in NSW who arrived in Australia by boat, aiming to complete all interviews by the end of June These men, women and children are having their claims assessed by the restrictive fast track process, which lacks procedural fairness, and if refused a visa, they face great risk of being returned to danger. Prior to COVID-19, RACS attended approximately 12-15 interviews per month. Now in April we are attending double that and have been advised by the Department that May and June’s interview numbers will be higher again. This greatly increases the pressure on our service, already pushed to capacity. What’s truly concerning is that more than half of the people coming to RACS are not known to us and may not have received legal support until now. The other huge challenge is the level of vulnerability we are finding in those who need help. We are seeing people with severe mental illness, people facing or experiencing homelessness and others with critical healthcare needs that just aren’t being met. Without RACS’ assistance, they would have faced the Department interview alone. So, I am asking you, our loyal supporters to please help us raise our target of $180,000 to ensure we can support these men, women and children as they face potentially the most important interview of their lives. Go to www.donate.racs.org.au. Thank you

 

Letter to Minister Andrews - Subject: The Biloela family

 To: 'karen.andrews.MP@aph.gov.au' <karen.andrews.MP@aph.gov.au>

Dear Minister Andrews,

Congratulations on your appointment to the position of Minister for Home Affairs. I wish you well in your new role.

Like many Australians, I am hopeful that your appointment will allow the government to reset its tone and its actions in relation to asylum seekers and refugees. For too long, we have used them for political purposes in a way that has been hugely detrimental to their wellbeing and welfare, and seriously damaging to our international reputation.

Now, therefore, would be a good time to release Nades, Priya and their children from detention on Christmas Island, and to allow them to return to their home in Biloela, where the community will welcome them with open arms. Regardless of the negative findings in relation to their application for a visa to remain in Australia, I would urge you to exercise the powers invested in you to release them on humanitarian grounds , a decision which would be widely welcomed. It would demonstrate that you, as the new Minister, are listening to the people and that you are prepared to take the necessary action to bring this shameful episode to an end.

I look forward to a positive response.

Yours sincerely,

Mike ...,

NSW 2448

At our Valla auction we raised more than $3,500 for the Asylum Seekers Centre

 We had a beautiful sunny day for our lunch and auction at Mike and Marlene's house in Valla Beach. 

 

Some 45 supporters enjoyed lunch on the deck, followed by music from Stewart Peters, and finally a lively auction, with almost 40 items going under the hammer. 

 

 

 

We all had a lot of fun, enjoyed one another's company, and raised more than $3,500 for the Asylum Seekers Centre. A great result!

 

Mike

Bello Nambucca RAR Bulletin 6 April 2021

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ROADSIDE DEMONSTRATION REPORT    A big thank you to the supporters who turned out for our recent roadside demonstration in Coffs Harbour. As usual, the support for our message from passing motorists was overwhelmingly positive, and often enthusiastic! Please note that the demonstration planned for Bellingen on Saturday 10th April is cancelled, as we have our much-anticipated lunch and auction on the following day. Our next roadside demonstration will take place by the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, in our usual location opposite the base hospital on Thursday 22nd April from 2.30 to 4.00 pm.   Do join us if you can. Your presence will help to make a difference.

WANTED FOR REFUGEE FAMILY   A wardrobe with drawers under, 900mm wide

VALLA BEACH MARKET REPORT   We had a very busy morning on Saturday at the Valla Beach market, talking to market-goers, collecting almost 150 signatures on our open letter, and successfully inviting 20 people to send a postcard to the Prime Minister, urging him to allow the Sri Lankan family held in detention on Christmas Island to return home to Biloela. The markets present a great opportunity for us to remind people of the cruelty of our government’s treatment of asylum seekers, and to help influence the public debate as the political parties begin to formulate their policies for the next federal election. Our next market stall will be at the Coffs Harbourside market on Sunday 18th April from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm.  If you can help out for an hour or two, then please email Mike .   Mike will need help in setting up the stall at 6.45 am.

FUNDRAISING LUNCH AND AUCTION: SUNDAY 11TH APRIL   A final reminder that our fundraiser for the Asylum Seekers Centre is almost upon us. 12.30 pm lunch starts followed by a fifteen-minute set by well-known local singer-songwriter Stewart Peters 1.45 pm  auction starts.  If you haven’t yet let Mike know that you plan to attend, then please contact him by Friday at the latest, so that we can be well prepared.   Please bring a plate to share if you can. Drinks will be provided by the hosts.   We have lots of great items to go under the hammer, and most of them don’t have a reserve. They include: A cheese-making day at the Big Banana, valued at $200. (reserve $100). A pair of beautiful watercolour paintings of Australian birds. A large decorated terracotta pot. A bottle of French champagne. A pair of valuable antique opaline vases. A voucher for the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb. (reserve $100). A $100 voucher for Event Cinemas. (reserve $50). An unusual and beautiful wooden platter on a pedestal. A Persian meal for four, served in your home. (reserve $50). A large watercolour painting from Nepal. (illustrated in the last bulletin). A voucher for an Emerald Beach restaurant.  Contemporary handmade decorated vase by Andrew Parker (signed). ...and many other items. If you are not able to attend the auction, but would like to bid for any of the above items, then please email your bid to Mike, or phone him on: 6569 5419 for further details. A catalogue of all the auction items will be available on the day.

PALM SUNDAY RALLIES: 28TH MARCH  Well attended rallies were held across all our capital cities on Palm Sunday to protest about our government’s ongoing brutal treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. Refugee Action Collective founding member Ian Rintoul, who attended the Sydney rally, commented: “You can judge a government always by how they treat the most vulnerable in society. We want all the people out of detention and out of the hotel prisons in Australia, we want all the people who are on Nauru and in PNG to be brought to Australia where they can get care and protection.” Dr Graham Thom, of Amnesty International, who also attended the Sydney rally, spoke of the various ways for refugee activists to support the movement: “online petitions, Twitter actions, postcards to MPs. It does make a difference. We are setting people free...it’s the only way to change policy.” We should be encouraged by Dr Thom’s comments. Elsewhere, at the rally in Melbourne, a familiar face was spotted in the crowd. (see the photo). One of our local RAR founding members, Carol Vernon, moved to Melbourne with her husband John last year. It’s great to see that Carol is as passionate and active as ever.

WE HAVE A NEW MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS You will be aware that the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Dutton, has been replaced by Karen Andrews.  We will not miss him. This could be just the right moment for the government to step back from its hardline approach to the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees, and in particular, the detention of the Sri Lankan family of four who have been held in detention for more than three years. Our government has spent millions of dollars holding Nades, Priya and their two daughters on Christmas Island, and is determined, notwithstanding the overwhelming public pressure in support of the family, to deport them to danger in Sri Lanka. Karen Andrews has the perfect opportunity, given the current crisis in government, to demonstrate that ministers are listening to the voices of the people, and that they are capable of an empathetic response. Please consider emailing Minister Karen Andrews to ask the government to allow the family to stay in Australia and to return to the community in Biloela, where they will be welcomed with open arms. They present no threat to the Australian community or to government policy. By allowing the family to stay in Australia, Minister Karen Andrews can truly demonstrate that the government is not just listening, but is acting. Email the Minister at:  Karen.Andrews.MP@aph.gov.au   You could begin your email by congratulating her on her appointment You will find an excellent Biloela Family letter-writing kit on our blog, which you can access by clicking on the link at the bottom of this bulletin. 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 Copyright © 2021 Bellingen Nambucca Rural Australians for Refugees, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Bellingen Nambucca Rural Australians for Refugees 685 Valla Road Valla, NSW 2448 Australia Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

 

Write letters: Biloela Family Letter Writing Kit

 

 This kit includes 3 proforma letters and background notes prepared by members of the ARAN Network of Letter Writing Groups.

 

Personalised letters are best – and if you can find the time a handwritten letter will grab more attention 

 

5 April is The International Day of Conscience, and 3 years and one month since the family was detained. 

 

Email addresses for MPs and Senators -  https://aran.net.au/resources/letter-writing/

 

 

You can write to:

1.    The Hon Karen Andrews, Minister for Home Affairs.

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

 

2.    Mr Alex Hawke, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

 

3.    Ken O’Dowd, MP, Federal Member for Flynn (Biloela area)

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

 

And remember to send a copy of your letters to your local MP and the Prime Minister

 

Your local MP, either mailing or emailing to their electoral office

Find postal and email addresses for your local members https://www.aph.gov.au/senators_and_members/members

 

or to them at:

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

Prime Minister

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

You may also wish to contact your state Senators.

Mailing address for Senators is:

PO Box 6100
Senate
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

 

 

Biloela Family Letters and Background information

 

·       You may wish to simply copy and paste the information in the letters below.

 

·       Or you may wish to write your own letter using the background information provided.

 

Letter 1.   The Hon Karen Andrews, Minister for Home Affairs.

The Hon Karen Andrews, Minister for Home Affairs.

PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

  

Dear Minister Andrews

I appeal to you to immediately release from detention the Sri Lankan Tamil family, Nades and Priya Murugappan, and the children, Kopika and Tharunicaa, and return them to Biloela.

The Biloela community has campaign strongly for the return of this family back.

For four years, Priya and Nades lived quiet lives in Biloela, a QLD town that needs new families to keep local services running.

Nades was a valued employee at the local meatworks, working hard to provide for his young family. Priya joined church groups and took her curries to doctors at the local hospital.

A single day after Priya’s visa expired in March 2018, Border Force took this family away and put them in detention. The family has been in detention for more than 3 years.

They are currently being held on Christmas Island, 5,000km from Biloela.

Yours sincerely

 

Letter 2.  The Hon Alex Hawke, Minister for Immigration

 

Mr Alex Hawke, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

 

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

 

Dear Minister for Immigration

 

I appeal to you to immediately release the Sri Lankan Tamil family from detention, allowing them to return to the community of Biloela, Queensland where they have such strong support.

 

Australia-wide more than 350,000 people signed a petition calling for their release, and even the AMA issued a powerful statement condemning the family’s prolonged detention, which must be very harmful to their two young children.

 

Under international human rights law children can only be detained as a last resort, yet this family has spent 3 years in detention, despite posing no security threat to anyone. Not to mention the cynical waste of taxpayers’ money.

 

Therefore I urge you to grant this innocent family their freedom and permission to return to Biloela permanently.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Letter 2. Ken O’Dowd, MP for Flynn (Biloela is in the electorate of Flynn)

 

Mr Ken O’Dowd, MP, Federal Member for Flynn

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

 

Date

 

Dear Mr O’Dowd,

 

I write concerning a family held in Immigration Detention on Christmas Island.

 

The parents, Nades and Priya Murugappan, and the children, Kopika and Tharunicaa, have now been detained in locked detention by the Immigration Department for more than three years. I understand that they have been detained all this time pending court proceedings regarding their refugee status.

 

For a number of years, this family was living in Biloela, a town in your electorate of Flynn, where the father was employed at the local meat works.

 

This family is not a threat to anyone, in fact, I know that many members of the Biloela community have been campaigning since 2018 on their behalf, asking for them to be returned to their home and friends in Queensland.

 

I also understand that the cost of detaining this little Tamil family of four is somewhere in the order of $6million.

 

This family should be immediately released from detention and returned to Biloela.

 

I ask that you appeal to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, himself the father of two daughters, and Alex Hawke, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, the father of four children, and ask them to use their discretionary power to release this family, and allow them to settle permanently in Biloela, so they can live a safe and productive life.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Background Information for Biloela Family Letter-Blitz

 

Choose 2 or 3 dot points to use in your letter.

Paraphrase using your own words.

·       This family represents no security threat to the community. There is no justification for keeping them locked up.

 

·       This family have a home in Biloela – they have been an integral part of the Biloela community and the community want them back. The community has been fighting for their release for three years.

 

·       There is strong public support for the release of this family. It is a matter of significant public interest when their home town community has been consistently calling for their release and return, and when more than 350,000 Australians have signed a petition calling for their release. The Australian community does not support the ongoing detention of this family.

 

·       The family has now been in detention for more than 1,000 days. The two children have spent a large part of their life in detention. Ongoing detention is very traumatising and harmful to children. There is very clear medical evidence that when children are subjected to psychological trauma of this kind, that it will be detrimental to their psychological development and will have serious mental health consequences that will be lifelong

 

·       Children should only be held in detention when absolutely necessary and, even then, only for the shortest possible period of time. The continuing detention of these children is a total abrogation of the Minister’s duty and is tantamount to child abuse.

 

·       The electorate will judge Minister Hawke, Minister Dutton, Prime Minister Morrison and the Coalition Government very harshly for this deliberately cruel treatment of this family.

 

·       Detaining the Biloela family on Christmas Island is an extraordinary and cynical waste of taxpayers’ money

 

 

 

Key requests (one of)

 

·       This family should be released immediately into the community – and allowed to return to the town of Biloela where they are loved and wanted and very much part of the community

 

·       They should be released into the community and allowed to return to Biloela while their application for protection runs its course

 

·       This family should be released from detention, allowed to return to their home in Biloela and allowed to remain permanently in Australia