Letter: Dear Minister Andrews,

Dear Minister Andrews,

Like everyone that I know, I was very pleased to read about the announcement of the agreement to settle 450 refugees in New Zealand over a three-year period.

It should not, however, have taken nine years to finalise. Nine years of suffering, nine years of shattered lives, nine years of despair. It is truly shameful that the Coalition government has been responsible for this deliberate cruelty, inflicted on people whose only “crime” was to flee their countries in fear of their lives, in the hope of seeking safety in Australia. For nine years, they have been vilified, mistreated and used as political pawns in an utterly unseemly contest to prove which party is the toughest on “border security”.

The finalising of this agreement , welcome as it is, will be widely regarded, given its timing, as yet another cynical ploy to win votes at the upcoming federal election. I can only hope that many Australians will see through this, and that the Coalition will be punished at the polls for its complete lack of moral integrity.

Mike G.....

Valla Beach NSW 2448

Our street stall in Bellingen

 

"We had a really busy time on Friday with our street stall in Bellingen, notwithstanding the showery weather. More than 140 people signed our open letter to the Prime Minister; we sold all of Marlene’s now-famous gift cards, which raised $155 and we collected $146 in donations . That’s another $301 for the asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown. 

People who visited the stall were very supportive of our efforts, and mostly expressed varying degrees of anger and despair with the Coalition government. Whilst very happy to learn about the agreement to resettle  450 refugees in New Zealand over three years, there was great anger that this offer has been on the table since 2013, and is being taken up now purely in an attempt to improve the Coalition’s electoral prospects." Mike

Our RAR Planning Meeting, March 2022

 

RAR PLANNING MEETING:  MONDAY 15^TH MARCH 2022

 

Present: Sue, Susan, Jill, Hilary, Marlene, Paul and Mike.

Apologies: Margie, Georgie, Peter, Barbara, Maureen and Gillian

 

Our key objectives:

To seek an end to the current inhumane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. We want the next government to comply fully with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention. We want an end to the arbitrary detention onshore and offshore of refugees, with permanent protection visas for all those who have been found to be entitled to protection under our international obligations. We want a fair and just process for people seeking asylum who are currently living in our community, with appropriate support and a reasonable timeframe for the resolution of their protection claims. We want the NZ offer of an annual intake of 150 refugees to be taken up urgently, with priority given to the men still stuck offshore in PNG and Nauru. We want an immediate, significant, increase in our annual refugee humanitarian intake. Currently our intake numbers are the lowest in 45 years, in spite of the ever-growing number of refugees globally.

 

Issues and actions:

 

 ·      Agreed that we would try to put a roster of letter writers together for the next two months. Paul will take care of the Coffs NOTA and Hilary will take the lead for the Bellingen paper. (Jill adds: We should consider also the Port Macquarie NOTA? Are there any others in Cowper?). Mike is happy to provide talking points, and where possible, photos. We will ask Margie if she is willing to coordinate the operation.

 

·      Agreed that we will produce written questions to send to candidates. Mike will draft and circulate for comment.

 

·      We agreed that wherever possible we would attend Meet the Candidates events once we know where and when they are scheduled. Jill will try to find out and report back.

 

·      Agreed that we would not hold a rally for refugees, but that we would make the next Coffs Harbour market (24^th April) an election-focused event.

 

·      Mike will produce a draft election leaflet and will circulate for comment.

 

·      We have five new placards with an election focus. Mike will make a new banner. The consensus was for: “Vote fair go for refugees”.

 

·      We will seek opportunities to gain media attention for our activities leading up to the election.

 

·      Given the new location of Conaghan’s office, we agreed that a demo was not practical.

 

·      We are not politically aligned, so we can’t offer a platform to any one candidate. We will, however, be supportive of any candidate who supports our objectives, as outlined above.

 

·      We agreed to hold a second and final meeting in early April. Mike will circulate some possible dates to all the people listed above. 

 

·      We need someone to volunteer to liaise with other groups in Cowper, including, but not limited to, Amnesty International and Port Macquarie refugee support group.

 

·      We are not politically aligned, so we can’t offer a platform to any one candidate. We will, however, be supportive of any candidate who supports our objectives, as outlined above.

 

·      We agreed to hold a second and final meeting in early April. Mike will circulate some possible dates to all the people listed above. 

 

·      We need someone to volunteer to liaise with other groups in Cowper, including, but not limited to, Amnesty International and Port Macquarie refugee support group.

Mike

15.3.22

 

Response from Minister Andrew's office to our RAR letter to P.M. Morrison

Our RAR Planning Committee

"A few days ago I received a reply from the Dept of Home Affairs to my letter to Morrison which included the signatures on our open letter.

It’s the usual cut and paste job, but has some priceless assertions, such as “Immigration detention is used as a last resort and where possible, unlawful non-citizens are managed in the community.” It goes on to state: “The decision to place a person in held immigration detention is based on an assessment of risk.”

None of this is true, of course, but it seems not to matter.

A change of government can’t come soon enough!"

Mike

Dear Mr Mike Griffin

Thank you for your correspondence to the Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP,

concerning the release of refugees from detention. Your correspondence has been referred to

the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Karen Andrews MP, as the matter raised falls within her

portfolio responsibilities. The Minister appreciates the time you have taken to bring this matter

to her attention and has asked that I reply on her behalf.

I appreciate the concerns you have raised in your correspondence. Please note that due to

privacy considerations, it would be inappropriate to provide you with specific details pertaining

to a person in immigration detention, or comment on their immigration status, without their

expressed permission. However, I can provide you with the following general information.

The Migration Act 1958 (the Act) creates a statutory framework regulating the entry and stay of

non-citizens in Australia. Under the Act, non-citizens who do not hold a visa are liable for

detention.

Immigration detention is used as a last resort and where possible, unlawful

non-citizens are managed in the community. Where appropriate, detainees may be detained

in an alternative place of detention, such as a hotel or apartment-style accommodation, rather

than inside an immigration detention facility. Decisions about the most appropriate

immigration detention accommodation are determined on a case-by-case basis and involve

consideration of the safety and security of detainees, service providers, visitors and staff. In

making placement decisions, medical needs are given priority, and family and community links

are carefully considered.

The decision to place a person in held immigration detention is based on an assessment of

risk. The lengths and conditions of immigration detention, including the appropriateness of the

accommodation and services provided, are subject to regular review by senior officers of the

Department of Home Affairs, the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Australian Human

Rights Commission. These reviews consider the lawfulness and appropriateness of

a person’s detention, their detention arrangements and placement, health and welfare,

and other matters relevant to their ongoing detention and case resolution.

Under the Act, detention is not limited by a set timeframe; rather, it ends when the person

either is granted a visa or is removed from Australia. This is dependent upon a number of

factors, including identity determination, developments in country information and the

complexity of processing due to individual circumstances relating to health, character or

security matters.

All persons who are in immigration detention are assigned a departmental Status Resolution

Officer to assist in progressing their case to resolution. If they have any questions regarding

their immigration pathway or options, he/she should contact their status resolution officer.

As you may be aware, Portfolio Ministers have personal intervention powers under the Act

which allow them to grant a visa to a person if they think it is in the public interest to do so.

The intervention powers are non-compellable, that is, the Ministers are not required to

exercise their power. Further, what is in the public interest is a matter for the Ministers to

determine.

The Minister’s guidelines describe the types of cases that might be referred for consideration.

All requests are assessed against these guidelines. Only cases that meet the guidelines are

referred for the Minister’s consideration. Ministerial Intervention is not an extension of the visa

process

Thank you for raising this matter with the Minister.

Yours sincerely

Toni Najdov

Immigration and Settlement Services Group

Department of Home Affairs

10 March 2022

 Our original letter to P.M. Morrison

Dear Mr. Morrison,

Please find enclosed an open letter, addressed to you, and signed by 616 Australians who have visited our

Rural Australians for Refugees stall at local markets in recent times. The letter reads:

“We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned about the plight of the 30,000 so-called legacy caseload of refugees who for almost a decade have been trapped in the legal limbo of temporary protection visas.

Australia is the sole signatory to the UN Refugee Council with a formal system for providing refugees with indefinite temporary, rather than permanent, protection. The UNHCR has described the policy as both “punitive” and “cruel”.

Temporary protection leaves this vulnerable group in perpetual uncertainty and fear. Requiring them to relive their trauma every three or five years is both cruel and unnecessary. Prohibiting family reunion, access to student loans and other benefits makes it well-nigh impossible for these people to rebuild their lives and to finally call Australia home.

We call on the government to end this cruel policy and to finally grant these people permanent protection. It is time to show some compassion and humanity.”

This group of people, all of them refugees who have demonstrated their right to our protection, present no threat to the Australian people. To continue to assert, as your government frequently does, that the current policy setting is designed to “keep Australia safe, and save lives at sea” is both absurd and indefensible. The Australian navy and air force have ensured that no asylum seeker boats have arrived on our shores since 2014. Let us not forget that you have a trophy in the form of a boat in your office which proudly proclaims: “I stopped these.”

It is time to end the cruel policy of temporary protection, which serves no useful purpose, and which condemns so many people to a life of uncertainty and fear.

Please show some compassion for these people, and give them the permanent protection that they so desperately need, and to which they are entitled under international law.

Yours sincerely,

Mike Griffin

Bellingen and Nambucca District Rural Australians for Refugees

Letter to media: THE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF WARS (All wars create refugees)

Dear NEWS OF THE AREA,

Night after night, we watch the unfolding horror of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on our screens. The sight of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, fleeing towards the Polish border, whilst their towns are bombarded and laid waste by the Russians is truly heartbreaking, and the international community must come together urgently to bring this nightmare to an end. The condemnation of the Russian invasion has rightly been almost universal, and nations have moved swiftly to impose sanctions on the Putin regime. Let us all hope earnestly that the sanctions will work.

But what of the other wars of aggression that have taken place in recent decades, some of which continue to this day?

There were no calls for sanctions against the US and its Coalition of the Willing when it invaded Iraq in search of non-existent weapons of mass destruction. And what of NATO’s bombardment of Libya to oust the dictator Gaddafi, leaving the country in turmoil to this day? And then we have the destruction of the impoverished state of Yemen at the hands of Saudi Arabia, armed by Western governments and resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of mostly innocent lives, leaving the country almost completely destroyed and its inhabitants in abject poverty?  And why is it OK for Israel to regularly pulverize the Gaza strip, killing thousands of Palestinians and creating mass poverty amongst the two million people living there? And it’s worth asking this question: why are Ukrainians who throw Molotov cocktails at their invaders hailed as heroes, whereas teenage Palestinian boys who throw stones at their military oppressors in the West Bank are labelled as terrorists, to be shot dead with impunity by the occupying army?

We should condemn all these wars of aggression, which cause so much suffering, bloodshed and destruction, and which have displaced tens of millions of people in the past two decades. These  wars serve only the interests of the all-powerful armaments industry and the politicians who do their bidding.

Mike Griffin

Our recent local RAR planning meeting in Valla Beach

Letter to the PM: Patricia 'has had enough'.

 The Prime Minister

The refugees are now imprisoned indefinitely in the Park Hotel, Melbourne

The Hon Scott Morrison MP

PO Box 1306

Cronulla NSW 2230

 

Dear Prime Minister,

 

Knowing you are busy, I will keep this letter brief. I am a retired pharmacist who has had enough.

 

It is about the plight of refugees, in the Park Hotel Melbourne, and other locations both on and off the shores of Australia. They were forced to flee their countries because their lives were in danger in their own countries. Something you and I have not had to face in our lifetime in Australia.

 

The majority of these refugees have had their applications for asylum processed and have been formally recognised as refugees. This means, as you know, that they are owed protection under our international obligations. Instead, you insist they are locked up indefinitely, because you believe it is politically expedient for you to do this.

 

Mr Morrison, where are your Christian values, and sense of what is right? Detaining these individuals any longer is NOT RIGHT, and I believe Australia will pay a high price for the refugee’s suffering and lack of hope.

 

I hope you will reconsider the plight of these genuine refugees.

Yours sincerely,

Patricia Abell, Retired Pharmacist,

Bellingen NSW 2454

Its Costing a Fortune : Letter to the SMH

In recent weeks the government awarded a $218 million contract to the Brisbane company  Canstruct  for the next 6 months of offshore detention operations on the island of Nauru.

This is the eighth contract made with Canstruct and there has been no open and competitive process involved for any of these contract awards.

There are 107 people detained on the island and 80 of them have had their claim for protection formally recognized, which means that Australia is obliged under international  law to protect them. It is costing  $11,000  per person per day to provide these  offshore services.  That’s an eye-watering amount of money that could be spent on other, more socially useful services to our community.

It is surely time to bring these refugees to Australia where there are job shortages in many areas due to the Covid restrictions on International Travel and the drop in working visa applications.

This would give these people  hope for their futures and would be of benefit to us all. Let’s put an end to this cruel and inhumane treatment  which is costing us all an absolute fortune and causing so much trauma to those impacted.

Marlene Griffin

 

 

Newsletter from RAR Australia

11 February 2022

Hello to all RAR Members and Supporters – Welcome to this RAR Update

Afghanistan – Women for Change

A world where all women can play an empowered and valued part in society – this is the vision of Women for Change Vision, a registered not-for-profit association.

Women for Change was founded in 2019 by its current President, Lida Hazara Nayeeb.  It now has 62 members: 59 Hazara women and three Hazara men from Melbourne’s southeast. Their commitment is to support their fellow girls, women and families in Australia and Afghanistan. They provide education, employment, and social support to vulnerable and isolated girls and women locally in Victoria, and in the Bamyan region of Afghanistan.

Women for Change’s work in Afghanistan began with providing orphaned children with education, clothes, stationery and food. Due to their immense poverty and lack of identification documents, the children cannot attend government schools. They attend classes in a cave in the harsh mountainous area of Bayman province.

The members of Women for Change living in Australia donate $10.00 or more per month to support the children. This provides life’s basics for the children and employs a trained teacher to run their classes.

Building on this success, Women for Change has widened the scope of its work through the following projects:

·         Felt Making Enterprise: 11 widowed women with disabilities, or with children with disabilities, were provided with $60 to develop their felt businesses. Felt bedding is recognised in Afghanistan as having therapeutic properties

·         Wool Spinning Enterprise: the women produce wool yarn during the winter months, when it is too cold to make felt. They purchase materials from nearby farmers, further supporting the local economy.

·         Carpet Making Training: 17 young girls, most of whom were child labourers, are gaining skills and knowledge in carpet making. A trainer was employed and $40 allowed the girls to participate in the training instead of labouring.

 

·         Responsive Multi-Education Classes: 300 girls take part in classes in a range of areas and delivery formats which meet girls’ educational needs. This includes basic literacy, university preparation and public speaking classes.

 ·         Sustainable Agriculture Training and Support for Impoverished Farmers: local farmers train in more effective agricultural practices.

·         Food Relief: impoverished families experiencing illness and disabilities receive food.

·         Emergency Financial Support: people with serious illness, including children who have been the victims of bomb blasts, received funds.

Women For Change want to partner with Rural Australians for Refugees to enable young people up to the age of 15 years who live on the streets in Afghanistan to work to pay for their food. Otherwise they will become reliant on charity.

If you would like to donate to this program you can donate a lump sum or contribute $10.00, $20.00 or more per month to:

Women For Change

BSB: 063619

Account Number: 111 569 23

Quote your name and the RAR Group you are from or, if the donation from your group, the name of the RAR Group.

For more information on Women for Change, email women2019forchange@gmail.com, or see www.hazarawomenforchange.com or www.facebook.com/hazarawomenforchange/

 

Afghanistan – support for artists

Ruth from Ballina Region for Refugees writes that the group are working with film maker Benjamin Gilmour and Refugee Legal on a project to complete Humanitarian Visa applications for 50 prominent Afghan musicians, painters and sculptors, and filmmakers. More than 30 volunteers are involved.

The Afghans are at risk of harm from the new government and who are unable to work now given the extremist ideology of the regime. For example, one of Afghanistan's most famous tabla players has buried his drums and is forbidden to play at weddings, while a famous sculptor is in hiding after being targeted for perceived idolatry.

We have been informed that the Australian government is not even looking at these forms until the new year. Meanwhile the artists on our list are suffering immensely.

Following a UK example, BR4R is looking at raising money for one-off stipends. Our enquiries suggest $200 US each for the 50 on our list would do enormous good. These funds would be administered and distributed by B4R4 via WesternUnion and Afghan banks, and we have triaged our list in urgency of need.

Any assistance that the wider regional refugee support community can provide would be so helpful. Please contact Ruth on 0409151378 for more information.

At BR4R we have allocated $2000 raised when we recently showed Benjamin Gilmour’s film Jirga (www.jirgafilm.com). We had such a positive response from this event. Ben is willing to give his film for no-cost screening fundraising events if this helps raise the money. Where possible Ben will do a Q&A either in person or via Zoom post screenings. For any questions about the film or to arrange a showing of the film, please contact Ben (0404 789 442).

 

National Palm Sunday planning meeting

Palm Sunday – 10 April 2022 this year – actions by local groups across the country have been quite effective in past year, although COVID-19 has thrown this off balance through 2020-2021. Local groups are encouraged to hold events of whatever size they can manage as a significant opportunity to re-focus our groups.

All capital cities will be holding rallies, but the media love the spread of the Palm Sunday actions through regional towns and centres to gives the story a truly national reach. Groups can send event details and then follow-up pictures and reports to a central point.

A coherent theme adds to the story as well. The Melbourne rally is using "Walk for Justice and Freedom for Refugees" with the by-line including "End Detention, Permanent Visas, Safe and Secure Futures."

Also, the timing of Palm Sunday action is as good as can be for them to act as part of our election campaign before the now almost certain May date.

Your group can join a national planning meeting via Zoom at 4pm Monday, 14 Feb. 2022, https://amnestyau.zoom.us/j/96545533634

 

Insurance for unincorporated RAR members

RAR has arranged 2022-23 insurance coverage for RAR National Inc. and RAR member groups which are not incorporated. Previous insurance coverage for groups expired on 1 February 2022.

RAR National has renewed the current insurance with Ansvar Insurance.  The coverage will be for the period 2 February 2022 to 1 February 2023.

The limits of indemnity are Public Liability $20,000,000 ($1,000 excess) Products Liability $20,000,000 ($1,000 excess) and Property in Care / Custody / Control limited to $250,000.

The RAR Committee has decided that the premium sought from Groups will remain at $60 for the insurance period should groups elect to take up this coverage.

RAR requests that groups deciding to join the scheme for 2022-2023 (Feb-Jan) advise the RAR Secretary (secretary.rar.australia@gmail.com) and to make their payment direct to the RAR bank account:

RAR Bank Details

Account Name – Rural Australians For Refugees Inc

BSB – 633 000

Account Number – 160958096

Reference – Ins [Group Name]

The Certificate of Insurance will then be forwarded to you.

A reminder that groups taking up the insurance are requested to advise the RAR Secretary of their intention to trigger the policy (I.e. hold an event).  This is to make sure that the event falls within the policy conditions.  Some groups do this for each event and others advise planned regular events (e.g. market stalls, etc).

 

RAR new website

We need your up-to-date contact details for the new website.  Please respond to the Survey Monkey survey re your group.  So far only 22 groups have responded.  We will have to ring around those groups who have not responded, to find out if you're still there!  It takes 5 mins. Please reply by Sunday 13 FEB.  We're all volunteers here, help us out.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2022GroupUpdate

 

Asylum Seeker and Refugee Assistance Trust

The Asylum Seeker and Refugee Assistance Trust is a modest charity, administered by David Kelly, that has funds to disburse as charitable donations to asylum seekers or refugees in Australia.

David has written to say “what we struggle to do is find and link up with suitable beneficiaries in the community. I would greatly appreciate any connection that RAR might be able to give me help to identify eligible individuals and their needs and facilitate the use of my charity’s funds for the fulfilment of those needs.”

The Trust’s grants are relatively small and are used for needs (medical, accommodation, transport, clothing, education, and social inclusion and cultural awareness that sometimes struggle to be filled quickly (or at all) by governmental support or mainstream charities.  For example, it has supported both gym and other memberships for young men and helped an all-female soccer football team compete here in Australia.  We have also paid utility bills and assisted with textbooks and online course fees.  We’ve even purchased musical instruments and spectacles … a range of relatively small but profound items.

“That’s the point of difference of this charity: because the individual sums of money involved are relatively small, they can be deployed very rapidly,” David explained. You can contact David at dkelly@khq.com.au or phone 409 018 436.

 

Set Them Free

In this film, directed by Richard Keddie, edited by Sebastian Broadbent and spoken by Tim Costello, religious leaders of Australia call for the release of refugees illegally detained in Melbourne's Park Hotel and Maygar Barracks. Those leaders include Anglican Bishop Philip Huggins, Imam Alaa Elzokm, Rabbi Shamir Caplan and Harold Zwier, and more than 30 other Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh leaders. See: https://vimeo.com/670613344.

 

Library take-up of Seeking Asylum: Our Stories

Mike from Bellingen-Nambucca RAR writes that the group took copies of the ASRC book Seeking Asylum: Our Stories, to the local libraries in Macksville, Nambucca Heads, Urunga and Bellingen.  All the librarians were delighted to receive their copies.

 

Jonathan Strauss

National Secretary Rural Australians for Refugees Australia

Phone: 0437 790 306

E: secretary.rar.australia@gmail.com

Rural Australians for Refugees on Twitter and Facebook.

RAR is a member of the Australian Refugee Action Network