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It was Mother's Day. A young mother and her sons, aged 6 and 9, had just found themselves in legal limbo. As we wrote at the time:
"Because they are verified refugees, this family cannot be sent back to the country they fled. But ASIO have decided that they may not live in the community. So they're held indefinitely. There have been no charges laid against them. They have no right of appeal. "
GetUp members responded in huge numbers. At dusk, we gathered for a candlelight vigil outside the Attorney-General's office, and news carried the images across the nation. 50,000 more joined the 'virtual vigil' online.
Our message was clear: the Government must implement independent reviews and appeals for these refugees.
Yesterday afternoon, the Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, has announced exactly that. Congratulations everyone, and congratulations to the Attorney-General.
Our campaign posed a simple question. The Romans had a phrase for it -- quis custodiet ipsos custodes -- "who guards the guards?" From now, an Independent Reviewer will examine adverse security findings by ASIO. It doesn't mean that every refugee detained because of adverse ASIO findings will be released. It does mean that they can hear the case against them, argue their side of the story, and have the decision reviewed every year. Former Federal Court Judge Margaret Stone is the inaugural Independent Reviewer.
I don't believe this would have happened without public pressure: without the GetUp members who powered this campaign by signing online, attending vigils in person, or chipping in the donations that make GetUp possible. Thank you.
We also owe thanks and congratulations to the journalists who exposed these stories, like Steve Cannane of ABC's Lateline; our partner organisations Amnesty Australia and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre who worked on this issue tirelessly; and to the MPs and Senators who took a stand on this issue in the Parliamentary Inquiry that this year recommended an end to this indefinite detention: particularly its chair, Daryl Melham MP, Deputy Chair, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young*, and to Rob Oakeshott MP.
Our relief is tinged with some sadness, as we think of the many thousands of asylum seekers still so cruelly treated by our Government. There's so much more to do, but although we often despair, we must also hope that we can do better. You proved that hope. We'll be in touch soon with more opportunities to take action.
In thanks,
Sam, for the team at GetUp.
*The Greens are now calling on the Minister of Immigration to ensure all seven children in detention because of ASIO decisions are released. This is a delicate issue because the department decides to keep children with their parents where it is in the child's best interest.