Our local RAR Newsletter May, 2021

ROADSIDE DEMONSTRATION REPORT

Our recent roadside demonstration in Coffs Harbour was a great success. For the first time in more than a year, our ranks reached double figures, and we were delighted to welcome back a number of supporters who we hadn’t seen for a while. The response from passing motorists, who couldn’t fail to be impressed by the number of placards and banners on display, was very positive.

 

Our next demonstration will take place on Saturday 22nd May from 10.00 until 11.30 am on Waterfall Way in Bellingen. You will find us at our usual location near the Yellow Shed, opposite the entrance to the golf club. Please join us if you can, to show your support for refugees and asylum seekers.

 

BELLINGEN MARKET REPORT

We had a beautiful warm and sunny day for our market stall on Saturday, and we were kept busy by a steady stream of visitors to our stall, many of whom expressed their deep dismay about our government’s ongoing punitive treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. We collected more than 150 signatures on our new open letter to the Leader of the Opposition, and more than $160 in donations and sales, all of which will be donated to the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown.

 

A big thank you to the supporters who helped make the morning such a success.

 

Our next market stall will be at the Valla Beach market on Saturday 5^th June from 9.00 am until 1.00 pm. If you can help out on our stall for an hour or two, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com, so that he can draw up a roster. New supporters are always welcome. Helping out at our markets is not an onerous task, and newcomers are always well briefed and supported.

 

OUR NEW OPEN LETTER

 

As you will be aware, we recently posted an open letter to the Prime Minister which had been signed by more than 800 people. We now have a new letter, this time addressed to the Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese. It reads:

 

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.

 

If you would like to collect signatures from family, friends or colleagues, then please email Mike at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com, and he will email a copy to you. It would be good if we could collect 1,000 signatures.

 

THE FEDERAL BUDGET AND REFUGEES

The government has decided to maintain the “temporary” pandemic-related reduction in our annual humanitarian refugee intake from 18,750 to 13,750 for at least the next three years. This comes at a time when there are more than 26 million refugees worldwide, most of them fleeing conflict, political upheaval or persecution in their homelands. The great majority of them are hosted in poor and developing countries which are already struggling to care for their own people, particularly in the midst of a global pandemic. It is deeply disappointing that our government, the tenth most rich country in the world, has decided to do less for refugees when it could, and should, be doing more.

 

 The government has allocated $811 million in the budget for the continued detention of refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru and in PNG. There are currently 109 people detained on Nauru, and 130 in PNG, meaning that our government plans to spend $3.4 million next year keeping each of these 239 refugees and asylum seekers out of sight and out of mind, and demonstrating to the world that we are irresolutely tough on protecting our borders from those seeking asylum on our shores. The trauma and suffering that we have inflicted on these people over a period of almost eight years is unconscionable.

 

We must continue our campaigning until this shameful chapter in our country’s history is brought to an end.

 

REFUGEES TO BE DETAINED INDEFINITELY

Last week the government passed into law, with the support of Labor, amendments to the Migration Act which give the government the power to indefinitely detain refugees, potentially for the rest of their lives. The new law allows for the government, where it has cancelled the visa of a refugee but could not send them back to their country of origin because they would face persecution there, to detain them indefinitely. The new law also gives the minister a broad unchallengeable power to withdraw a person’s refugee status recognition – declaring they can be returned to the country from which they had fled.

 

Even the government-controlled joint parliamentary committee on human rights raised serious concerns about the law, arguing it presented a “real risk that detention may become indefinite” and “may also have implications for Australia’s obligation not to subject any person to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. These concerns do not appear to have troubled either the government or the opposition.

David Burke, the legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the legislation exposed the government’s willingness to leave growing numbers of refugees in detention without any plan.  He states:

 

 “The government should not have the power to lock people up for potentially the rest of their lives without any safeguards. This forces refugees into an unthinkable choice between spending potentially decades in immigration detention, or agreeing to go back to a country where they will be persecuted. These new laws allow the Morrison government to warehouse people who have nowhere else to go.”

 

It should surely never be acceptable for a minister, at the stroke of a pen, to overturn the fundamental protection that the government has given, after due process, to someone whose life is at risk.

How did we get to this?

Newsletter March 23,2021

 

OUR NEXT MARKET: SATURDAY 3rd APRIL AT VALLA BEACH   You will be aware that, due to the incredibly wet weather, Bellingen Market, scheduled for last Saturday, had to be cancelled. Our next market stall will be at the Valla Beach market on Saturday 3rd April from 9.00 am until 1.00 pm. As usual, we’ll be handing out leaflets, asking people to sign our open letter, inviting people to send a postcard to the PM about the Sri Lankan family held on Christmas Island, and selling our Boat People merchandise, together with art works, to raise funds for the Asylum Seekers Centre. If you can help out for an hour or two at our stall, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. Let us hope that the sun shines.

ROADSIDE DEMONSTRATION: THURSDAY 25TH MARCH   A reminder that our next roadside demonstration is on Thursday 25th March from 2.30 to 4.00 pm by the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, opposite the base hospital. It would be great to have a good turnout to remind people that the voices of the community need to be heard in relation to the cruelty of the government’s treatment of asylum seekers and refugees.   Our demonstrations are always positive and affirming events, and we remain very confident that they do matter, and that public opinion does, in the end, influence our elected members. The worst that can happen at our demonstrations is the occasional rude gesture from a passing motorist. We are certainly not in any danger of being fired upon for exercising our democratic right to demonstrate!

FUNDRAISING LUNCH AND AUCTION: SUNDAY 11TH APRIL   A reminder that our first major fundraiser of 2021 is now less than three weeks away. Since the last newsletter, we have received offers of a number of great items to go under the hammer on 11th April, some of which include: A one-day cheesemaking experience at the Big Banana, valued at $200. A Persian meal for four, served in your own home. Various items of pottery. A large, framed painting from the Janakpur Women’s Development Centre in Nepal. A wooden platter. A pair of binoculars. We do hope that many of you will want to attend the event. You will enjoy the company of fellow RAR supporters, and the auction will be fun.   Please bring a plate to share if you can. Drinks will be provided by the hosts.

TWO IMPORTANT ACTIONS FOR YOU   1. We are urgently seeking further items for the auction. Please consider donating an object of interest that you think will attract bids of at least $25. It would be most helpful if you could let Mike know fairly soon what you plan to offer, so that he can create a sales catalogue in advance of the event. 2. It is important that we know in advance that you are intending to come to the lunch and auction, so that we can plan accordingly. We will have lunch from 12.30 pm, with the auction to commence at about 1.30 pm. If you want to skip the lunch and just come along for the auction, that’s fine, but it is important that you let us know.    Please email Mike in the coming days at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com to let him know your intentions. Directions to 39, Rogers Drive, Valla Beach, and parking options, will be included in the next newsletter.

TWO MEDEVAC REFUGEES RETURN TO NAURU   Two medevac refugees who spent more than a year in Darwin immigration detention were flown back to Nauru, at their request, last week. Kirubakaran  Rasanayagam said that he and his wife requested to go back to Nauru because they could no longer tolerate their indefinite detention in Darwin. They decided that, although they often felt unsafe on Nauru, they were at least able to move around freely and were permitted to work.   In the Darwin facility, on the other hand, they were locked up for 23 hours a day, and their privacy was constantly invaded by guards, who would routinely enter their room and shine torches in their faces in the middle of the night. It is outrageous that medevac refugees, who should be receiving care, support and medical attention, are instead treated like criminals by Border Force operatives. Amnesty International refugee coordinator Dr Graham Thom, had this to say: “The government is now forcing people to choose between detention offshore, where they face medical neglect, or hotel detention in Australia, where they are locked in rooms for up to 23 hours a day.” Our fight for justice for refugees goes on. 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

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

Bello Nambucca RAR Newsletter 18 August 2020

WE ARE BACK IN ACTION   A group of eleven RAR supporters met recently to discuss how we can best move forward safely in the current climate. We agreed on the following actions: Roadside demonstrations: We will organise these fortnightly, on Saturday mornings, at three different venues, from 10.00 am until 11.30 am. People who feel that an hour is as much as they can manage are encouraged to arrive at 10.30 am, so that our numbers grow, rather than diminish. Markets: We agreed to restart our market stall, though we will not be asking people to sign petitions. Only two people can be located inside the gazebo at any one time, though it is OK to have one or two people standing at the front of the stall. Mike will organise a roster for each market. Fundraising: We accepted that we can’t organise concerts, lunches and auctions at present, which greatly restricts our ability to raise funds. However, we did come up with some COVID-friendly ideas. Watch this space! Letter-writing: We agreed that this is an important activity for our group, and that we would continue, through the newsletter, to encourage people to write letters to the press and to politicians on specific topics. We agreed that Mike would provide specific suggestions about the content of letters to make it easier for supporters to respond. Newsletter: We agreed that the newsletter will continue to be published fortnightly.

SEVEN YEARS TOO LONG: OUR M.P'S RESPONSE The following letter was received recently from our local MP, Pat Conaghan, in response to a letter from Mike, whose letter is on our blog (http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au): Dear Mr Griffin, I am aware you have long-standing dissatisfaction with the Australian Government and your perception of its handling of asylum seekers who have attempted to circumvent our immigration processes. As I stated in my previous email to you on 8 May 2020, those who are able to prove they are genuine refugees and have not attempted to arrive onshore illegally will receive support to settle in Australia. The Government's policy on people who have tried to enter Australia illegally has not changed. As a sovereign nation, we have every right to protect our borders. We also have the right to refuse entry to those who attempt to come here illegally. We will not be taking up New Zealand’s offer to resettle asylum seekers. New Zealand citizens are automatically granted Special Category visas on arrival in Australia under the Trans-Tasman Arrangement, and this would be another way for these individuals to circumvent our immigration laws. At any time, these people who seek to flout our laws have options that do not require them to be allowed to settle in Australia. These include returning to their country of origin, at the Australian taxpayers’ expense; to reside permanently in Nauru or PNG; or to take up the US Government’s settlement offer. They are not required to stay in detention. I would also point out that of those who have sought medical attention in Australia through the (now repealed) Medevac legislation, around one third have refused treatment. Additionally, a significant proportion of those brought here for treatment are now refusing to leave, despite having signed an agreement agreeing to do so. Australia has one of the most generous humanitarian programs in the world. We do more than most to assist and resettle genuine refugees in need of protection. Yours sincerely,   PAT CONAGHAN MP Federal Member for Cowper Mr Conaghan chooses to ignore the difference between the act of seeking asylum and the formal processes of our immigration system. He continues to assert that it is illegal for people to seek asylum, when it is not. The right to seek asylum is enshrined in international law, to which our government is a signatory. He asserts that asylum seekers who resettle in New Zealand have an automatic right to then seek entry to Australia under the Trans-Tasman agreement, in spite of the fact that the New Zealand government has stated  in recent times that it is a matter for the Australian government to decide who is granted a visa to travel from NZ to Australia. It is not the case that a third of Medevac evacuees have refused medical treatment on arrival in Australia, though it is true that a small number have. The evidence seems to be that, as mentally unwell and confused individuals, who do not speak English, they are fearful about what is happening to them. Little wonder, given that they are kept isolated and under guard, which can only add to their trauma. What stands out in this response is the complete lack of empathy for these people whose lives have been ruined by the direct, punitive action of our government. As far as our politicians are concerned, these asylum seekers have only themselves to blame. Meanwhile, Australian citizens continue to protest at the incarceration of refugees in hotels and in detention centres in Australia. At the weekend, some 400 demonstrators protested outside the Kangaroo Point hotel in Brisbane, where a large number of Medevac refugees have been held for may months. Refugee Action Coalition spokesperson, Ian Rintoul, commented; “We could have them in houses in the community overnight.” The punishment continues.

At Kangaroo Point in Brisbane

Roadside demonstration: Saturday 22nd August from 10.00 am until 11.30    You will find us by the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, opposite the base hospital. Please come and join us if you can, and help us to keep the plight of refugees and asylum seekers in the public eye. We have lots of new banners and placards to share. We hope to see you there. Market stall: Sunday 6th September in Coffs Harbour   We are planning to hold our first market stall in a long time at the Coffs Harbourside market on Sunday 6th September from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. If you are able to help out for an hour or two, then please contact Mike at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com and let him know the times that would be convenient for you. We will need to create a roster to ensure that we don’t have too many people at the stall at any one time. HELPING YOUNG CHILDREN WITH THEIR READING   A group of independent community volunteers are seeking more people to help out with reading to primary school children from resettled former refugee families in Coffs Harbour area.   We co-ordinate with a local Coffs primary school and all you need is a FREE volunteer Working With Children Check, which we can help you to organise. We'll give you all the briefing and simple training. Current and past volunteer readers have found the experience very rewarding and positive. It provides the children with valuable home reading that their parents are unable to provide.  If you would like to join us and have one hour a week after school time then please contact us c/o:  Fi                      Fiona.mcaulay@det.nsw.edu.au

SALE OF WORKS AT THE STRINGER ART GALLERY IN NAMBUCCA   A big thank you to all who have dropped in to see Marlene’s art exhibition in the Stringer Gallery. The works have been selling well, and the attached photo of the exhibition is an updated version, following the sale of a number of paintings. If you are not able to visit the gallery, but would like further details of any of the paintings in the photo, then please contact Marlene at: marlene.griffin46@bigpond.com. It would be wonderful to reach Marlene’s target of $1000 for the ASC!

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