letter from Mike Griffin to Shane Neumann on Labor Party Policy on Asylum Seekers

_{Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 4:14 PM}

_{To: Shayne Neumann MP}

_{Subject: Asylum policy}

_{Dear Mr Neumann,}

  _{On 5th May 1992, the Labor minister for immigration introduced an urgent Bill into parliament to legislate for the mandatory detention of people fleeing danger and persecution, and who were seeking the protection of the Australian government in accordance with our international obligations. At the time, the minister, Gerry Hand, assured parliament that the new law was “only intended as an interim measure”. He further stated that the government had no wish to “keep people in custody indefinitely” and that he “could not expect parliament to support such a suggestion”.}

_{As we all know, the effects of this “interim measure”, still supported by Labor, have been catastrophic for the thousands of asylum seekers who have sought safety on our shores over the past twenty five years. We still have almost 2000 asylum seekers and refugees languishing on Nauru and Manus Island, whose only hope now is the possibility for some of them to be traded and resettled in the USA.  Those remaining will no doubt continue to be pressurised to “go back to where they came from” or offered the untenable prospect of resettlement in PNG,  Nauru, or indeed anywhere else on earth where the government, supported supinely by Labor, might persuade another country to accept them.}

 _{I find it utterly shameful that the Labor party, of which I was a member for more than 30 years, continues to support this cruel, inhumane and unlawful policy. There was a time when Labor would stand up for those in need, would act out of principle and humanity and would be proud of its policy positions in relation to justice and equality. Clearly that does not apply to asylum seekers and refugees.}

_{The boats have stopped. It is surely time to end the misery of our offshore detainees , to close the camps without delay, and to resettle those found to be genuine refugees in Australia. Using these wretched people as human shields in order to somehow protect the Australian people is an utterly reprehensible policy, and Labor should not support it.}

_{I look forward to the time when Labor rediscovers its soul.}

_{Yours sincerely,}

_{Mike Griffin}

_{Valla Beach}

_{NSW 2448}

Newsletter for 9 May 2017 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

Next Roadside Demo - Thurs 18th May Nambucca Plaza 3pm

Next Market Stall Bellingen Sat 20th May

25 Years of Mandatory Detention

Roadside demonstration report

Last Thursday’s demo started well, with lots of support from passing motorists, but sadly, the skies became blacker by the minute and after three quarters of an hour, the heavens opened! Being fair-weather demonstrators, we had to beat a hasty retreat. However, that was not before a delightful young person came running from the Big Banana cafe carrying bottles of water for each of us. She just wanted to say thank you to us for our efforts and to express her solidarity with our cause, before rushing back to her work. How wonderful is that?

Our next roadside demonstration will take place on Thursday 18th May from 3.00 pm until 4.30 pm in Nambucca Heads. You will find us in the usual spot beside the Pacific Highway, adjacent to the Plaza shopping centre. Let’s hope that the sun shines!

Next  market stall: Bellingen market, Saturday 20th May

Please note that our next market stall will be at Bellingen market on Saturday 20th May from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. The markets present a great opportunity for us to remind people about the cruelty and inhumanity of offshore detention. It would be great to welcome supporters old and new to join us, either for a chat or to help out for an hour or two. If you can spare some time to help out, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.  If you remembered to print off the petition sheet which was attached to last week’s newsletter, then you might have signed petitions to bring along to the market to add to the growing number that we have already received. We now have approximately 3500 signatures from RAR supporters around Australia.

25 years of mandatory detention, and counting

On 5th May 1992, legislation was rushed through parliament to prevent a group of Cambodian asylum seekers from claiming refugee status in Australia. The immigration minister of the time, Gerry Hand, assured parliament that the new law was “only intended to be an interim measure”. The law provided that  “boat people” must be detained  and that  a court was not to order their release. All this, in the “national interest”, a political claim which seemed to require no elaboration.

As we know, the effects of this “interim measure” have been catastrophic for thousands of asylum seekers who have sought safety on our shores over the past 25 years. Today, more than 2,000 refugees and asylum seekers languish on Nauru and Manus island, many of them since 2013. As at 28th February 2017, a further 1,300 individuals are mandatorily detained in Australia, many of them for more than four years.

At the time that the legislation was passed, Gerry Hand insisted that the government had no wish to “keep people in custody indefinitely”. Indeed, he said that he “could not expect parliament to support such a suggestion”.

Yet here we are, 25 years later, and the system is more draconian than ever, with the Minister possessing  unprecedented powers to decide on the fate of individual asylum seekers.  It is worth reminding ourselves that Minister Dutton wields sweeping and unchecked powers that are beyond the review of the courts. A recent report, released last week, calls for the minister’s current powers to be reined in and for bills to expand them even further be halted. A Fraser-era  minister for immigration, Ian Macphee, says in the report that he is “disgusted by the power accorded to current ministers regarding the lives of people fleeing persecution”.It is surely more important than ever to maintain our rage about the injustice, the cruelty and inhumanity of our government’s deliberately punitive system of indefinite detention.

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 >480 recipients

Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/

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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

Paul Bartholomew letter to Labor Party on asylum seeker policy - 4 May 2017

To:

shayne.neumann.mp@aph.gov.au

Sent:

Thu, 04 May 2017 12:23:30 +0800

Subject:

Offshore detention centres

Dear Mr Neumann

I am writing to express my dismay and deep concern at the continuing detention of refugees and asylum seekers on the offshore detention centres in Nauru and Manus Island.

These people have done nothing wrong. They have simply exercised their legal right to seek asylum in Australia to escape the horrors of war, persecution and torture in their home countries.

Yet they have now been held for more than 4 years in these detention centres where there are continuing documented cases of physical and sexual abuse and where many of the detainees are experiencing depression and other severe mental health issues .

I have been a Labor party voter all my life up until the last Federal election. I have always thought of the Labor party as the party that stands up for disadvantaged people and has a strong commitment to human rights. Apparently this is no longer the case. Like many other previous Labor party voters, I can no longer support  a party that offers bi-partisan support to the Government's continuing cruel and inhumane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru.

What will happen to the detainees who are not part of the people swap deal with the USA whenever that might happen? It is simply nonsense to suggest these people could be settled permanently in PNG or Nauru where there are no housing, no jobs, no opportunities and hostile local communities.

The only sensible and humane solution is for these people to be processed in Australia  and, if found to be legitimate refugees, then to be resettled in Australia.

If the Labor party  can't support this for purely political reasons then surely you should advocate strongly for immediate closure of the offshore detention centres and the people brought to Australia until such time as they can be safely resettled in other suitable countries.

Regards

Paul Bartholomew

Newsletter for 2 May 2017 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

Next Roadside Demo - Thurs 4th May Big Banana 3pm

Offshore detention centres - who is responsible?

National RAR petition

Next Roadside Demonstration: The Big Banana: Thursday 4th May.

Our next fortnightly demonstration is this Thursday, 4th May in Coffs Harbour, next to The Big Banana, from 3.00 pm until 4.30 pm, weather permitting. Please consider joining us for the demonstration, given that these events are such a good way to get our message across about the evil policy of indefinite offshore detention. As always, we have lots of banners and placards to share.

Two weeks later, on Thursday 18th May, our demonstration will be in Nambucca Heads, by the side of the Pacific Highway, adjacent to the Plaza shopping centre.

Offshore Detention Centres: Who is responsible?

For  several years now, we have constantly been fed the line by our government that all aspects of the organisation and running of the detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island are the responsibility of the governments of Nauru and PNG. Numerous reports by international bodies have rejected this claim, reminding the Australian government that it cannot simply outsource its international and humanitarian responsibilities.This week, in response to enquiries about the serious outbreak of dengue fever on Nauru, which is affecting a significant number of detainees and refugees on the island, the Department of Immigration refused to comment, stating that the outbreak is “a matter for the government of Nauru.”

However, a Senate standing committee, which has recently delivered damning findings from a seven-month enquiry into allegations of abuse in offshore detention centres, firmly rejects the government’s deceitful stance. The report notes that the Australian government pays for all the costs associated with the detention centres, engages the contractors, owns all the major assets and is responsible for negotiating third-party resettlements.The report goes on to state that the government clearly has a duty of care for the asylum seekers and refugees transferred to Nauru and Manus Island, and “to suggest otherwise is fiction”.

The Greens stated that the establishment and operation of the regional processing centres is “a shameful chapter in Australia’s national story” and recommended that they be closed immediately, with the  asylum seekers and refugees brought to Australia.

National RAR Petition to close offshore detention centres

In recent months, we have collected some 350 signatures for the national RAR petition, which our group is coordinating. Petition sheets have been arriving in the post each day, and at the time of writing  we have approximately 3,000 signatures from many RAR  and refugee support groups around the country. We have decided to extend the deadline for the return of the petitions until the end of May, as they cannot be presented to Parliament until the sitting week of 13th- 19th June. The petition will be presented to Parliament by Lisa Chester, the Labor MP for Bendigo.

Please find attached a copy of the petition. If you could  print it off and collect signatures from family and friends, that would be much appreciated. Hard copies of the signed petitions (electronic copies are not permissible) can be returned to our market stall in Bellingen on 20th May, or posted to Mike Griffin –his details are on the sheet.

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 >480 recipients

Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/

(482 likes)

Twitter Account @RARBellingenNam