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.