letters to Dutton up to feb 2015

Minister Dutton 2015

3

                                                                                                Valla Beach

                                                                                                NSW 2448

                                                                                               

                                                                                                10th February 2015

Dear Minister Dutton,

Yesterday I was utterly dismayed and horrified, but not at all surprised, to read  Professor David Isaacs'  and Alanna Maycock's account of their time on Nauru in December. We, the Australian people, get few insights into the disgraceful treatment meted out to asylum seekers in our name. We are deliberately kept in the dark, and for obvious political reasons. 

I applaud Professor Isaacs' courage in speaking out, notwithstanding the gagging clauses in his contract. The Australian people have a right to know about the outrageous and immoral consequences  of the government's obsession with stopping the boats at any price. As Professor Isaacs and Alanna Maycock say, imprisoning people indefinitely and without trial - people who have committed no crime - contravenes international law. Equally importantly, the policy contravenes the moral code of any country which claims to uphold civilised values.

Mr Abbott tells us that his government, of which you are a senior member, is listening and is ready to change. Given the widespread opposition to the government's unlawful and cruel treatment of innocent children and their mothers in offshore detention centres, will the government now take serious steps to close these centres ? They are a monstrous affront to humanity and bring shame on us all.

I look forward to receiving an answer from you to my specific question.

                                                                                                            Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                              Mike 

________________________________________________________________________________

2

Sunday, January 18, 2015 11:44 AM
To: Peter.Dutton.MP@aph.gov.au
Subject: Manus Island

Dear Minister,
I am writing to request that you do all in your power to close the detention centre on Manus Island and to bring the 1035 men who are currently detained there to Australia. I am deeply troubled by recent reports which describe their desperation, self harm and hunger strikes. These are desperate people, who increasingly live in great fear for their lives.  You will be aware that it was recently reported that locals massed menacingly outside the centre and that local staff vandalised the kitchen in one of the compounds.  We are now almost at the anniversary of the terrible violence last year which left one asylum seeker dead and many more injured. It is unsurprising therefore that asylum seekers on Manus are resorting to desperate measures to bring their plight to the attention of the world.
It is a matter of record that many locals in PNG are very hostile towards the refugees. Prospects for their resettlement in PNG are therefore remote, particularly as this is a very poor country with limited services and resources for the population.
Australia has a duty under international law to ensure the safety of asylum seekers. They are our responsibility.They should therefore be transferred to Australia and have their asylum claims properly and fairly assessed. Those found requiring our protection should be offered resettlement in Australia.
I strongly object to the current costly, damaging and punitive offshore regime. Many PNG nationals and community leaders also strongly object to these arrangements which have been foisted on PNG in return for aid assistance.
We are better than this. Will you bring this ugly and shameful policy to an end?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Mike  


_______________________________________________________________________________________

1
 
3rd January 2015

Dear Minister Dutton,

I trust that you are enjoying a well-earned Summer break with your family and friends.

Sadly, for the asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru, their days and nights continue to be filled with fear and uncertainty as a result of the Coalition's asylum policies. 

We read on a regular basis, notwithstanding the government's efforts to shroud the harsh realities in secrecy, of the constant threats of physical and sexual abuse, and of violence committed against refugees now "settled" in this utterly inappropriate environment.

The Australian government, in spite of assertions to the contrary, continues to be responsible for the safety and the lives of these people.

Why should female asylum seekers and refugees feel obliged to sleep in their jeans because of their fears of rape? Why are asylum seekers and refugees fearful of reporting assaults and other abuse to security guards or to the police? 

How can things be so bad for refugees on Nauru that some of them have asked to be returned to the detention centre?

Save the Children is contracted by the Australian government to provide social services to refugees on Nauru.  

Notwithstanding the gagging clauses in their contract, they state: "Save the Children believes that Nauru is not a sustainable, long-term option for the resettlement of humanitarian refugees."  

Given this statement of the obvious, and given that punishing these people is costing the Australian taxpayer up to $5billion per annum, will you not now begin to take some steps to respond to the voices of so many decent Australians  who believe that offshore detention should be brought to an end in 2015? 

Surely it should now be acknowledged  that it is time to put this ugly and shameful chapter in our history behind us.

I look forward to hearing from you.

                                                                                                Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                Mike 

Cost of holding each asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru - $400,000 per year

The Refugee Action group has identified that it costs $400,000 per asylum seeker to be held on Manus Island and Nauru 

http://www.refugeeaction.org.au/?page_id=3447

It says

"At the same time as Abbott is imposing cuts across the board, his budget devotes $8.3 billion over four years to locking up refugees—much of it to pay for dumping asylum seekers in the camps on Manus Island and Nauru. This enormous sum could completely reverse Abbott’s cuts to Medicare, welfare payments for under 30s, education and health combined over the next four years. It is a stark example of the government’s priorities.

Cost of detention per person a year (Souce: National Commission of Audit)

Detaining a single asylum seeker on Manus or Nauru costs $400,000 per year. Detention in Australia costs $239,000 per year. By contrast, allowing asylum seekers to live in the community while their claims are processed costs just $12,000 per year, one twentieth of the cost of the offshore camps, and even less if they are allowed the right to work."

Mike Griffin has written a paper for distribution at the the markets and this is attached.

It explains what powers the Government now has to deal with incoming asylum seekers and it is apparent that it does not include existing asylum seekers. Otherwise they would just deport the people held on Nauru and Manus Island.

The main point is that the Government has stopped the boats and that holding the asylum seekers in detention is not a deterrent as the new powers mean that can send back any new asylum seekers.

So it is a hugely expensive punishment.

As we approach the anniversary of the death of Reza Benati, we can reflect how long these asylum seekers have been on Manus Island, and the cost of this cruel approach.

RAR Information Sheet - unprecedented powers for Immigration Minister

Rural Australians for Refugees: Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

With the passage of the amendments to the Migration act and the Maritime Powers Act, the Senate has finally granted Scott Morrison his wishes, together with unprecedented powers.
New legislation was not required to release children from Christmas Island or on-shore detention centres. 

The government could have released them at any time since coming to office. Instead it chose to use these children as pawns in a cynical game of politics in order to get enough cross-bench senators on-side to enable it to get its real agenda into law.

What, then, is Scott Morrison's real agenda?
What is it that the cross-benchers who supported the government have signed up to? With the Bill now passed by the Senate:

• the immigration minister now has unprecedented, unchallengeable and secret powers to determine the fate of individual asylum seekers.
  
• he can now order asylum-seeker boats to be turned away from Australia's shores, regardless of the consequences.
  
• he can detain people without charge or deport them, even if he knows that they might face torture or worse on being sent back.
  
• his new, unprecedented powers mean that asylum seekers will now have no right of appeal and no access to the Refugee Review Tribunal.
  
• the legislation removes all references to the Refugee Convention, to which Australia is a signatory, from Australian law.
  
• the legislation makes it clear that international law against refoulement (returning asylum seekers to a country where they may face persecution, torture or worse) will no longer apply. Australia will follow a "new, independent and self-contained statutory framework" that sets out the government's own interpretation of international law. The legislation gives the government the powers to return asylum seekers to places where they have been, or will likely be, persecuted or tortured. This is a clear and unequivocal breach of international law.
  
• the legislation reinstates the failed policy of Temporary Protection Visas. (TPVs). These visas keep people in indefinite limbo and will, as in the past, cause great damage to their mental health and wellbeing. This, in spite of the fact that, last time round, more than 90% of people on TPVs were ultimately granted permanent protection. The cost of attempting to repair their damaged lives has been immense.
  
  And let us not forget:
  There are currently 2,151 refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru, including 167 children. They have been told that they will not, under any circumstances, be resettled in Australia. The conditions for them, physically and mentally, are appalling. Their treatment is cruel, immoral and inhumane, and is in contravention of the government's international obligations. There is no end in sight for them. 
  

Degrading treatment of asylum seekers on Nauru smh 8 February 2015

Degrading treatment of asylum system reflects poorly on Australia

Date

February 8, 201

David Isaacs and Alanna Maycock

Indefinite detention cruel and inhumane, write David Isaacs and Alanna Maycock.

• 

The Nauru facility is guarded by tight security and asylum seekers' movements are totally restricted.

Imagine living indefinitely with young children in a tent with no running water in oppressive heat.  In December last year, we spent five days on Nauru consulting on children living in just such conditions.
The Nauru facility is guarded by tight security and asylum seekers' movements are totally restricted. Each family's tent adjoins the next. There is no privacy from neighbours and less from guards, who can enter tents unannounced any time.
Only tents for children under five are air-conditioned; inside many of the tents is mouldy. Tents are 30 to 120 metres from the nearest washing and toilet facilities. Toilet trips at night involve crossing dark, open land, often under the gaze of large male guards. Many children and some mothers have had bed-wetting at night rather than run the gauntlet of a night-time toilet visit.
Many women have insufficient sanitary towels.

These families experience degradation, despair and loss of dignity. We met a 15-year-old boy who, after 15 months without progress, sewed his lips together with thread and refused food. His parents called him foolish and said he should trust Australians to show mercy.
After three days the boy collapsed, his parents called for help and the boy was given emergency medical treatment and the threads were cut. The boy was furious with his parents. His protest was a desperate attempt to have his voice heard by a country that prefers to put asylum seekers out of sight and out of mind.
The many children and parents we saw, almost all with stress-related health conditions, had been in offshore detention on Christmas Island and Nauru for more than a year. Most staff members are sent home after four to six weeks to rest; they become exhausted and develop mental health problems if they stay longer. Yet asylum seekers are detained indefinitely.
"Detention" is a misleading euphemism for imprisonment. Australian schoolchildren given a detention are detained for an hour after school. The people living in a prison camp in Nauru are not told when or even if they will be released.
Australian prisoners are tried and told their release date; anything else is unlawful. We treat people reaching our shores begging for asylum worse than we treat convicted criminals.
In Franz Kakfka's book The Trial, a banker Josef K is arrested, prosecuted and persecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority for an unknown crime he has not committed. His powerlessness is terrifying.
Asylum seekers who take boats to Australia have committed no crime. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Australia is a signatory, says: "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution."
But the asylum seekers on Nauru feel as powerless as Josef K, imprisoned and persecuted by us for the non-crime of fleeing persecution at home. Powerless people may become depressed or may become violent. It is little wonder that there have been riots on Nauru and Manus Island.
Asylum seekers are already prone to mental health problems from the traumas they have suffered at home and in flight. It is chilling to think we may be deliberately increasing the risk that fellow human beings will have long-term mental health problems.
To imprison anyone without trial contravenes international law. More importantly, it contravenes the moral code of any civilised or even semi-civilised country. When we hear a country imprisons people without trial, we think it must be a police state, or worse.
Italy treats asylum seekers with compassion, dignity and respect while attempting to persuade other countries to prevent boats leaving.
Our treatment of asylum seekers, particularly children, repels the international community. We need to tell politicians of all persuasions that mandatory detention should stop now, in Australia and offshore. We must process asylum seekers' applications for refugee status in a timely way. Most importantly, we need to get in touch with our compassion for human beings in distress and find our humanity.
Professor David Isaacs is a consultant paediatrician and Alanna Maycock is a registered nurse.

Newsletter for 4 February 2015 RAR Bellingen and Nambucca

Valla Community Markets Saturday 7 February 2015

"Don’t forget that our first market stall of 2015 is this coming Saturday at Valla Beach from 8.00 am until 1.30 pm. Come along and say hello and sign our petition to Minister Dutton" - Mike

This newsletter is stored here for archive purposes. To read the complete newsletter click below

Darwin Detention - people need your help

Dear Friend,

Today there are more people locked up in detention in Darwin than ever before – people who need your help.

Here at DASSAN we are expecting things to get even worse in the next month or two. Although many asylum seekers have recently been released into the community on temporary visas, more desperate people are being brought into Darwin every day.  Many have already spent months or years in other detention centres.

Wickham Point has become the camp for people who are re-detained (often without any reason being given), for those with health and medical issues, and for others with complex histories.

DASSAN has always been run solely by volunteers with no funding – and we've achieved a huge amount – but now we can't keep up with the demand. To meet the growing needs DASSAN recently commissioned a report.  This strongly recommended we need to employ someone with expert advocacy skills to build, train and support our team of volunteer advocates to meet this increasingly urgent and complex work load.

With your help we can employ an experienced and effective advocate in Darwin right here, right now. We have in principle long term support for this new position from a number of organisations and individuals working to defend human rights in Australia, but it will take time to establish the framework needed for their support to flow in. The needs of asylum seekers in detention in Darwin are URGENT. Will you make a contribution to help us now?

We are seeking donations to enable us to employ this expert advocacy co-ordinator for the next six vital months. This will keep the work going until we are able to advertise and fund a permanent position.

Every contribution will make a difference in the lives of the 1000 plus desperate detainees (including children) locked up in Wickham Point and Bladin Camps right on our doorstep.

You can donate to our crowd funding site at Chuffed, or  donate by direct deposit to DASSAN , Bendigo Bank, BSB: 633-000, Account Number :143875664 - please write 'advocacy major appeal' in donation details

Your money won't be buying clothes for asylum seekers, it will be buying them a voice. For the 1000 asylum seekers detained in Darwin, there is no formal organisation with a mandate to provide advocacy. This new position will enable DASSAN to provide formal individual and systematic advocacy for men, women and children in detention in the Northern Territory. Our work has already begun.

For every hour our Coordinator is working, there will be dozens of DASSAN volunteers spending time amplifying the impact of that work. For every asylum seeker visited, there will be someone to assist in lodging complaints and organising access to medical or legal services. For every person in detention suffering human rights violations or from stalled processing, there will be a designated point of contact to follow up and make sure they receive the care they need.

Your support through a once off donation or a regular monthly commitment will ensure this work continues and grows. You will be supporting a dedicated team of volunteers.

In the past twelve months DASSAN has assisted over 700 asylum seekers with visits and advocacy on health issues and conditions in detention. Our volunteers have assisted hundreds of asylum seekers gain legal representation, prevented forcible transfers to offshore facilities for medical reasons and forcible returns to countries of origin. DASSAN members have worked closely with lawyers to support class action litigation for groups of detainees, such as children born in detention post July 19.

There have been significant changes to the legislative regime governing asylum seeker detention and processing. However, Darwin will remain the hub for treatment of sick asylum seekers, and be the transfer point for re-detained people and complex cases, and the need for advocacy will continue.

The Coordinator we employ will conduct training for volunteer advocates, and work with specialists from around the country to improve capacity for self-advocacy and outside advocates to conduct effective interventions. The Coordinator would also act as lead advocate in complex and urgent cases, and speak to Parliamentarians, advisory groups and the media where appropriate.

You can donate through our crowdfunding site or by direct deposit to DASSAN , Bendigo Bank, BSB: 633-000, Account Number :143875664 - please write 'advocacy major appeal' in donation details

Some of the common issues that require our advocacy support include:

• Unreasonable delay or denial of medical treatment for sick detainees
• Transfers with minimal notice to other onshore or offshore detention facilities
• Inadequate access to nutritious food outside mealtimes for pregnant women and young children
• Lack of access to legal advice
• Information about and assistance with complaints procedures
• Low capacity for self advocacy within detention
• Arbitrary rules and lack of information, constantly shifting interpretation of rules

We have a team of advocates already working and a coordinator standing by to support them who with your help will start work in February. The need is URGENT. Please Please share with your friends and encourage them to support those who most need it now.

With hope and determination

The DASSAN team

www.dassan.org

we acknowledge the Larrakia people, traditional owners and custodians of the country on which we live and work

until we are all free, none of us are free

Chilout Newsletter January 2015

Chilout Newsletter January 2015

You can sign up to get the Chilout newsletter sent to you  by using the link below

ChilOut - Children Out of Immigration Detention http://www.chilout.org/ Update on the Release of Children  Despite the Minister for Immigration’s promise that children would be released in the early months of 2015, hundreds of children remain in detention. According to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s latest statistics, dated 31 December 2014, there are: 420 children in locked detention facilities in Australia; and 135 children in a locked detention centre on Nauru. In addition, there are also still approximately 28 unaccompanied children living in the community on Nauru living in fear for their safety and having limited opportunities for education, work or play. ChilOut will continue fighting until there is no child left in detention and until the law is changed so that children can never be locked up again. The Government has said that the children held in detention on Nauru are not part of its planned release of children and remain subject to its offshore processing policy. However, unlike the Government, ChilOut will not abandon these children. We are currently working on our 2015 strategic plan of which a key component will be getting children off Nauru and ensure that no child seeking asylum is sent offshore in future. Latest News New Immigration Minister – Cabinet Reshuffling sees Dutton Replace Morrison Former Health Minister Peter Dutton has replaced Scott Morrison as the new Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. You can read more here. ChilOut are concerned that the new minister appears to echo the hard line approach of Mr Morrison, including his persistence in referring to those seeking asylum as “illegals” and “potential criminals” on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s website. While there are no children detained on Manus Island, the recent unrest and the refusal of Mr Dutton to address the concerns of detained refugees is deeply worrying. ChilOut urges the new minister to break the cycle of cruelty that has defined our immigration regime over the past twenty years and implement policies that are grounded in compassion and guided by our international human rights obligations. Baby Ferouz and his parents released from detention into the community In news worthy of celebration, the Myuddin family who have been detained for fourteen months, have been released from detention in Darwin. Baby Ferouz, who has known no life other than the inside of a detention centre, is one of the 30 babies that was born in Australia to asylum seeker mothers who will be allowed to remain in the community while his claim for protection is processed. You can read more about it here. The battle to free Ferouz has been a long and arduous one – and the impact on his mother Latifar has been devastating. Ferouz was born in Brisbane after Latifar was brought to the mainland from Nauru after her health deteriorated. Latifar was prevented from seeing Ferouz immediately after the birth, and their battle for freedom has been waged every day since. ChilOut are delighted for the Myuddin family, but their fight is not yet over. While they will be permitted to move to Melbourne where they have an extended family support network, the legislation passed last year means they will only be eligible to apply for a three-year temporary protection visa and will never be able to apply for permanent protection. ChilOut will continue to advocate for families like the Myuddins, so that they may find a safe place to live and raise their family. AHRC Report into Children in Immigration Detention Soon to be Released Keep your eye out for the release of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report into children in immigration detention. The report must be tabled by the Attorney-General by 11 February 2015. ChilOut made a submission to the AHRC’s inquiry and also appeared before the inquiry’s public hearing to highlight the severely detrimental impact of detention on the mental health of children. Amnesty Berry Event –  “Nauru’s Forgotten Children” Amnesty International’s Berry Local Action Group is holding a public forum in Berry on Saturday 31stJanuary 2015 on Nauru’s forgotten children. The forum will feature ChilOut’s very own Dianne Hiles, as well as an impressive line up of speakers including the author of The Undesirables: Inside Nauru. The forum will examine Australia’s asylum seeker and offshore processing policies in this 25th anniversary year of Australia’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. For full details of the event, please go to: http://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/naurus-forgotten-children-public-forum-at-berry-nsw-31-january-2015-tickets-14954672829 Last Chance to Apply for ChilOut’s 2015 Youth Ambassadors Program Are you between the ages of 15 and 25 and an Australian citizen or permanent resident? Are you from a refugee background or passionate about refugee issues? Do you know anyone who might fit this criteria? If so, please let them know about ChilOut’s 2015 youth ambassadors program. We are currently looking for approximately 10 youth ambassadors who will work with ChilOut in 2015 on issues surrounding children in detention. All youth ambassadors will receive training from ChilOut and will work closely with ChilOut’s Youth Ambassador Coordinator and Campaign Coordinator. ChilOut’s youth ambassadors program started in 2004 and is aimed at empowering young people to have a voice and advocate for the rights of children seeking asylum. All the information about our 2015 program can be found on our website here.However, applications for the program close on 31 January 2015, so make sure you get in now before it’s too late! For any questions about the program, please email ChilOut’s Youth Ambassadors Coordinator at ambassadors@chilout.org ChilOut Needs Your Help! ChilOut is a very small organisation with only two paid staff members working part-time. Although we are only small, with passion and dedication and some amazing volunteer assistance we still manage to an enormous amount done! However, without further financial help we do not have sufficient resources to carry out all our planned work in 2015.  This is why we need your help. Please donate to ChilOut today at www.chilout.org/donate. However small or big, your donation will enable to ChilOut to continue its important work to ensure that all children are released from immigration detention and that children are not detained in future. By supporting ChilOut you will play a vital role in ensuring that children are no longer held in remote offshore facilities where they are subjected to abuse. We have a lot planned for 2015, including a campaign to highlight Australia’s continuous violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and a push to bring all children back to Australia – including 28 vulnerable children on Nauru who have no parents to care for them. We can’t do this work without your help, so please support us by making a donation. ChilOut - Children out of immigration detention · Australia This email was sent to bellingen.rar@gmail.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with ChilOut - Children Out of Immigration Detention on Twitter or Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, the essential toolkit for leaders.

Guardian News article 29 January 2015 Human Rights Watch World Report 2015

Australia’s global reputation as a defender of human rights is being undermined by its continued “harsh” treatment of asylum seekers, persistently high Indigenous incarceration rates, and “draconian” new anti-terrorism laws that restrict citizens’ freedom, the Human Rights Watch annual global report says.

In particular, Australia’s obsession with “stopping the boats” and sending asylum seekers offshore is distorting the country’s foreign policy and weakening Australia’s moral authority in the region, it says.

The Human Rights Watch World Report 2015, released on Thursday evening Australian time, is an assessment of the human rights record of 90 countries and territories.

The report says Australia had a solid record of protecting civil and political rights, but that its current asylum policies “fail to respect international standards” and undermine Australia’s ability to call for stronger human rights protections abroad.

“Besides trade and security, a large driver of the Australian government’s foreign policy is its single-minded focus on ensuring that all asylum seekers or refugees are processed at offshore facilities. The government has muted its criticism of authoritarian governments in Sri Lanka and Cambodia in recent years, apparently in hopes of winning the support of such governments for its refugee policies,” the report says.

HRW’s Australia director, Elaine Pearson, said Australia’s moral authority in the Asia-Pacific region was compromised because it relied on the assistance of governments with questionable human rights records. 

“Unfortunately, Australia’s obsession with offshore processing of asylum seekers means that government is willing to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in places like Cambodia and Sri Lanka, because Australia feels it needs those countries onside in order to achieve its policy goals,” she said.

Pearson said the negative impact of offshore processing policies on asylum seekers themselves had been documented by human rights organisations, the United Nations, Australia’s parliament, and the media.

“Harsh refugee policies may score domestic political points,” she said, “but the human toll is unacceptable.” 

The HRW report says Australia’s steps towards a referendum on constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians, and some improved health and socio-economic indicators, are positive developments. But Indigenous Australians still suffer significant and persistent disadvantage.

“Indigenous Australians account for only 3% of Australia’s population [but] they account for 27% of Australia’s prison population. In part because they are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, Indigenous Australians are more likely to face stigma and discrimination in employment.”

Indigenous Australians die, on average, 10 to 12 years earlier than non-Indigenous Australians, have an infant mortality rate almost twice the non-Indigenous rate, and suffer disproportionately from preventable diseases such as diabetes and respiratory illnesses.

Pearson told Guardian Australia that with the world in a tumultuous state and the rise of new terrorism threats such as Isis, there was a temptation for governments to respond with wide-ranging anti-terrorist laws.

But Australia’s suite of counter-terrorism legislation was “overboard” and would “infringe on freedoms of expression and movement”. New laws could define sharing links on social media as “advocating terrorism”, and could see people prosecuted simply for travelling to certain “declared areas”.

But in particular the National Security Legislation Amendment Act, which could see government whistleblowers, journalists and activists jailed for up to 10 years for disclosing information about special intelligence operations, would have a “chilling effect, leading to cover-ups”, Pearson said.

“Australia’s new counter-terrorism laws mean journalists, whistleblowers and activists will risk prison for certain disclosures – even if it’s in the public interest,” she said.

Last week Guardian Australia revealed that journalists reporting on asylum seeker issues are regularly referred to the AFP for investigation.

Newsletter for 28 January 2015 RAR Bellingen and Nambucca

Community Markets in Valla and Bellingen.

We are still looking for volunteers to help with our market stalls, particularly the three markets in Bellingen.  You don’t need to have any experience of doing this kind of activity, and you will always have somebody with you who is an “old hand”.  If you can manage an hour or two, that would be greatly appreciated. At our stalls, we will have a petition  to sign, a sign-up sheet to encourage people to join our supporters’ list and various leaflets which help to inform the public about the plight of asylum seekers and explain some of the myths around seeking asylum. You will be in good company and you will find that the great majority of people are sympathetic to the cause. The dates for the markets are :

 

Valla Beach:  7th February: 4th April; 6th June

Bellingen:   21st March; 16th May; 18th July.

If you can help, then please phone Mike on 6569 5419 ; John on 0447 225241; or email RAR on belingen.rar@gmail.com 

This newsletter is stored here for archive purposes. To read complete newsletter click below

Newsletter for 21 January 2015 RAR Bellingen and Nambucca

Hi Everyone

Thanks to Mary for a quick response to the recent email "situation desperate on Manus Island". 

She wrote " I thought the example letter and suggestions as to who to write to were good advice and have now started my letter writing. "

A number of emails are being received from the National RAR,  telling the story of the impact of Government action on the fate of asylum seekers and action being taken.

This newsletter is stored here for archive purposes. To read the complete newsletter click below

Ongoing correspondence with Luke Hartsuyler

From: Mike

Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 2:40 PM

To: Luke.Hartsuyker.MP@aph.gov.au

Subject: Re: Nauru

Dear Mr Hartsuyker,

Thank you for your email of 14th January in response to my email of 7th January. 

In your email you set out, once again, the failings of the previous government’s immigration policies in contrast with what you regard as the rigorous and effective policies of your government. Unfortunately, you failed to address any of the issues which I raised with you.

My email referred specifically to the plight of refugees and asylum seekers on the island of Nauru.  I set out some of the concerns that I and many Australians have about the lives of real people, who every day of the week have to live the experience of the government’s offshore detention policies.  I asked you a number of specific questions relating to the safety and wellbeing  of refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru and I invited you to comment on the statement from Save the Children that “Nauru is not a sustainable long-term option for the resettlement of refugees”. 

I would be most grateful if you would now respond to the specific issues that I have raised with you.

Yours sincerely,

Mike Griffin 

From: Hartsuyker, Luke (MP)

Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 4:36 PM

To: 'Mike'

Subject: RE: Nauru

Dear Mr Griffin,

Thank you for your email.

The cost of the Labor’s failures on our borders over the six years was substantial in humanitarian and financial terms.  Their failed border protection policies have resulted in an environment where more than a thousand people have perished at sea.  More than 8,100 people who have been waiting offshore in desperate circumstances were also denied Australia’s protection via humanitarian visas over its final three years.  During this time, Labor's asylum budget has blown out by $10 billion.

The Coalition remains committed to the proven policies and principles we have held for a decade.  We have protected the integrity of our immigration program.  

It was the Coalition who originally enshrined human rights protections in the Migration Act under section 198A for those processed offshore.  It was the Coalition who opposed Labor’s Malaysian 5 for 1 people swap because it was an abominable deal that could not provide sufficient protections for those sent to Malaysia.  It was the Coalition who opposed the attempts to strip all protections from the Migration Act.  The Coalition’s stance was vindicated by both the High Court of Australia and again by the Houston Report, which found the Malaysia deal did not contain adequate human rights protections for those sent there.  It was the Coalition who insisted that, when Labor reopened Nauru and Manus Island, the parliament would need to approve any country used for offshore processing, to ensure appropriate human rights protections were in place. 

The Coalition has always maintained a strong border protection policy and orderly immigration system is essential to safeguard the integrity of our Humanitarian and Refugee Program.  Australia runs the most generous resettlement program per capita in the world. Less than one percent of the world’s 10 million refugees will be resettled in any one year.  The Coalition believes we should hold steadfastly to protecting the integrity of this program so that, at all times, we are in a position to decide who will get that rare chance of resettlement.  

We promised to restore the full suite of our proven policies including offshore processing in Nauru, visa reform and coastal operations where the circumstances permit.  We have fulfilled our promises to the Australian people and will continue to do so.

Thank you for taking the time to write to me with your concerns on these important matters.

Yours sincerely,

The Hon Luke Hartsuyker MP

The Nationals’ Federal Member for Cowper

Assistant Minister for Employment

From: Mike [mailto:mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 7 January 2015 9:41 AM
To: Hartsuyker, Luke (MP)
Subject: Nauru

                                                                                              

                                                                                                Valla Beach

                                                                                               

                                                                                                7th January 2015

Dear Mr Hartsuyker,

I trust that you are enjoying a well-earned Summer break with your family and friends.

Sadly, for the asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru, their days and nights continue to be filled with fear and uncertainty as a result of the Coalition's asylum policies. We read on a regular basis, notwithstanding the government's efforts to shroud the harsh realities in secrecy, of the constant threats of physical and sexual abuse, and of violence committed against refugees now "settled" in this utterly inappropriate environment.

The Australian government, in spite of assertions to the contrary, continues to be responsible for the safety and the lives of these people.

Why should female asylum seekers and refugees feel obliged to sleep in their jeans because of their fears of rape? Why are asylum seekers and refugees fearful of reporting assaults and other abuse to security guards or to the police? How can things be so bad for refugees on Nauru that some of them have asked to be returned to the detention centre?

Save the Children is contracted by the Australian government to provide social services to refugees on Nauru.  Notwithstanding the gagging clauses in their contract, they state: "Save the Children believes that Nauru is not a sustainable, long-term option for the resettlement of humanitarian refugees."  Given this statement of the obvious, and given that punishing these people is costing the Australian taxpayer up to $5 billion per annum, will you not now begin to take some steps to respond to the voices of so many decent Australians  who believe that offshore detention should be brought to an end in 2015? Surely it should now be acknowledged  that it is time to put this ugly and shameful chapter in our history behind us.

I look forward to hearing from you.

                                                                                                Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                Mike                                                                  

Letter to Peter Dutton close Manus Island 18 January 23015

2

Sunday, January 18, 2015 11:44 AM
To: Peter.Dutton.MP@aph.gov.au
Subject: Manus Island

Dear Minister,
I am writing to request that you do all in your power to close the detention centre on Manus Island and to bring the 1035 men who are currently detained there to Australia. I am deeply troubled by recent reports which describe their desperation, self harm and hunger strikes. These are desperate people, who increasingly live in great fear for their lives.  You will be aware that it was recently reported that locals massed menacingly outside the centre and that local staff vandalised the kitchen in one of the compounds.  We are now almost at the anniversary of the terrible violence last year which left one asylum seeker dead and many more injured. It is unsurprising therefore that asylum seekers on Manus are resorting to desperate measures to bring their plight to the attention of the world.
It is a matter of record that many locals in PNG are very hostile towards the refugees. Prospects for their resettlement in PNG are therefore remote, particularly as this is a very poor country with limited services and resources for the population.
Australia has a duty under international law to ensure the safety of asylum seekers. They are our responsibility.They should therefore be transferred to Australia and have their asylum claims properly and fairly assessed. Those found requiring our protection should be offered resettlement in Australia.
I strongly object to the current costly, damaging and punitive offshore regime. Many PNG nationals and community leaders also strongly object to these arrangements which have been foisted on PNG in return for aid assistance.
We are better than this. Will you bring this ugly and shameful policy to an end?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Mike