Letter to Mr Albanese

                                                                                                                                                    

Dear. Albanese,

Please find enclosed an open letter, addressed to you, and signed by 822 people, which calls on the Labor Party to take a clear and principled asylum policy to the next federal election. The letter states:

“Dear Mr. Albanese,

As the Labor Party reviews its policy platform in preparation for the federal election, we, the undersigned, urge the Party to adopt a principled and compassionate asylum policy which is consistent with our international obligations. At a minimum, we urge the Party to commit to:

·      Bringing all remaining refugees from Nauru and PNG to Australia for resettlement here or in other safe countries, including New Zealand.

·      Urgently reviewing and processing all outstanding asylum claims.

·      Releasing all remaining refugees and asylum seekers from APODs and other mainland detention centres, except where in individual cases there are overriding security issues.

·      Issuing all genuine refugees in Australia with Permanent Protection Visas.

A clear and principled asylum policy, articulated boldly, would attract significant community support.”

We urge the Labor Party to commit to taking action to end the demonising of asylum seekers and refugees, and to resist the pressure to use the issue of asylum as a political tool. It is surely time to end the decades-long ill-treatment of asylum seekers, and to focus instead on both our international obligations and on our better instincts of compassion and humanity towards those in need of our protection.

We look forward to a positive response from the Labor Party.

Yours sincerely,

M.

Bellingen and Nambucca District Rural Australians for Refugees

Valla Beach

NSW 2448

10^th September, 2021

 

Reply from Senator Kenneally re the Murugappan family

 

From: Keneally, Kristina (Senator) <Senator.Keneally@aph.gov.au>

Sent: Friday, September 10, 

Subject: Thank you for emailing me about the Biloela family

 

Good morning

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding the ‘Biloela family’ - Priya, Nades and their two Australian-born daughters, Kopika and Tharunicaa Murugappan. 

 

I apologise for the time it has taken me to get back to you.

 

As you would be aware, for a long time I have been advocating that the Murugappan family be allowed to go home to Biloela, a town that loves them and wants them back.  In fact, this has been Labor’s position for some time.

 

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has asked questions in the House of Representatives about the family’s circumstances and urged the Morrison Government to allow them to return to Biloela. 

 

I was very fortunate to travel to Christmas Island earlier this year to meet this lovely family. But, I was saddened to see effect of detention on Kopika and Tharunicaa.  

 

These two Australian-born children have now spent most of their lives living in detention, all while Mr Morrison has been claiming that he “got all children out of detention here in Australia” – a claim that is simply untrue.  

 

Labor welcomes the recent decision from Minister for Immigration, Alex Hawke, to personally intervene in the family’s case, granting bridging visas for Nades, Priya and Kopika.  

 

Importantly, the Minister’s decision means Nades, Priya and Kopika are no longer in detention and are free to work, access services and support, and travel without significant restriction.   

 

It is disappointing that the Minister declined to use his personal discretionary power to grant a bridging visa to Tharunicaa. This little 4-year-old girl, born in Australia, remains in immigration detention in the community.   

 

While it is essential that Tharni continues to receive the medical treatment she needs following her serious illnesses, including pneumonia and sepsis, we understand the family is hopeful the government will allow her to access this treatment in Queensland.   We urge the Minister to take into account the advice of Tharni’s doctors. 

 

Many Australians will be concerned that the Minister has only granted the three family members a three-month bridging visa, and we share those concerns.  We are hopeful that the Minister has set a three-month period with a view to allow him the time required to consider the materials before him and make a decision to return the family to their home in Biloela.  

 

There is now considerable support from both sides of politics for the release of this family – including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, broadcaster Alan Jones, and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.  

  

As it has been the case all along, Mr Morrison and Ministers Andrews and Hawke can grant the Biloela family permanent protection and bring them home to Queensland with a stroke of a pen.   Immigration ministers - including Ministers Dutton and Hawke - have made thousands of discretionary decisions each year to grant visas in circumstances like these, including on compassionate grounds. 

 

It is past time for the Morrison Government to bring this sorry saga to an end and allow the family to come home to Biloela.  

 

It is also time to stop the waste of taxpayer dollars:  The Morrison Government has spent at least $50 million of taxpayer funds in detaining and attempting to deport the family. 

 

We encourage you to show your support for the Murugappan family by signing Labor’s petition to bring them home to Biloela. 

 

The integrity of Australia’s immigration system is an important matter, but the system also allows compassion and support for families and children in our community. 

 

It is time for Priya, Nades, Kopika and Tharunicaa to return home to the Queensland community that they love, and that loves them in return.  

 

Thank you taking the time to contact me about this issue.  

 

Kristina  

 
Sign Labor’s petition to bring them home to Biloela. 

 

Kristina Keneally
Deputy Labor Leader in the Senate
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Senator for New South Wales

Letter 2 to A. Albanese M.P.

 

Dear Mr Albanese,

 

I have supported and worked for the Labour Party for over 50 years but in recent times have been unable to give Labor my support due to the party’s policies on the issue of the treatment of refugees. “Offshore Processing” has been a harsh and cruel policy over the years and one which sadly, Labor has supported.  Many of us  would like Labor to press for an end to this.

 

A further pressing issue at the moment revolves around the continued use of Temporary Protection Visas for refugees . As you will know, there are over 30, 000 genuine refugees on TPV’s in Australia. These people have often spent years in detention and many have been through a life of terror and stress . Even though they have been designated refugees they are still living in insecurity and hardship on TPV’s with no certainty around their futures. At the recent ALP National Conference, Labour committed to the conversion of Temporary Protection Visas to Permanent Protection Visas. We urge you to keep to this commitment and press for Temporary Protection Visas to be abolished.

 

The Labor Party through the years has always  been a party of compassion and humanity and it is this central tenet that has seen Labor successful at election time. It would be to Labor’s advantage in the polls to demonstrate by its policy platform that these principles are still embedded in the Labor manifesto. Temporary Protection Visas serve no purpose in relation to border security and prevent hardworking  migrants and their families from fully settling in Australia and  contributing to Australian society.

 

Many asylum seekers are professional people  and are highly skilled. They deserve an opportunity to re-build their lives. As for the overall policy of “Offshore Processing” and “ Indefinite Detention”  – Labor needs to be clear and decisive on these issues . These policies must end – they bring shame on Australia in the eyes of the rest of the world.   

 

Yours sincerely,

 

M........m G........