It is time the refugee movement in Australia demands the Greens use their power in Parliament to force the ALP to end the cruel policy of mandatory detention. It is unacceptable for the Green’s to keep a racist Government in power. The Greens make regular public statements criticizing the length of time people are kept in detention and their representatives even give speeches from the platform at rallies against mandatory detention calling for a more humane policy. However as the detention system lurches from one crisis to crisis and the ALP moves further to the right in embracing ever more punitive policies towards asylum seekers the Greens continue to keep the Government in power.
The ALP has sent the AFP into Christmas Island to use tear gas and synthetic bullets against protesting detainees, it has moved protesting detainees from Villawood to Silverwater jail in Sydney where they are being held without charge and it is now proposing changing the Migration Act to make it easier to either deport protesting detainees convicted of a crime or give them TVP’s instead. The Government’s rhetoric and public statements are becoming more Howardesque by the day as they fan the racist flames of outrage of the shock jocks and the Murdoch press.
As the situation for detainees deteriorates , the Greens cannot escape one thing, it currently has the power in the lower house through Adam Bandt’s vote to bring down the government. If that isn’t enough leverage they will soon hold the Balance of Power in the Senate. The fact is the Green’s are effectively in a Coalition with ALP to keep them in power and if they fail to use the threat to withdraw their support for the government they are effectively endorsing their asylum seeker policies. Several statements in the press however in the last week have shown the Greens have no intention of using this power against the Government.
Asked whether the Greens would consider withdrawing their support for the government over Labor’s treatment of refugees, Greens MP Adam Bandt gave a categorical “No” on Channel Ten’s “Meet the Press”. “We’ll keep using our space in parliament to push for action on the broader suite of refugee policies and move towards a more human solution,” he said. Mr Bandt's comments follow the refusal by Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young to commit her party to using its leverage in the Senate, which the Greens will control from August 1, to change asylum-seeker policy. "We are using our political leverage because we are the only ones out there saying, 'This is the solution'," Senator Hanson-Young told the ABC.
Greens Leader Bob Brown even went as far to say make the ludicrous claim that the Greens who hold the power of life or death for the Government need more MP’s in Parliament to have any impact. By this logic despite being in a defacto coalition with the ALP the Greens cannot get any more humane policies on asylum seekers into place until they are the majority party themselves He said "If it's not achievable, then we will hope that there will be more Greens in the future to make it more achievable….But we are not the government and therefore we cannot implement the policy platform that we have."
If this is the stance of the Greens then I think two things need to happen:
1. Green politicians need to be targeted via email, phone and in person by asylum seeker activists who need to demand the Green’s use the power they have over the ALP to demand real change’s to the mandatory detention system NOW!
2. Green’s politicians and representatives should be denied the stage at protests in support of asylum seekers as this only allows the Green’s to posture as being against the Government’s policies whilst avoiding taking real action in Parliament.
The argument that the Green’s have no choice but to support the ALP as Tony Abbot would be worse does not hold water. More people are in detention under the ALP than under the Liberals. More children are in detention than under the Liberals. Instead of Naura we have Christmas Island or the failed East Timor processing centre. Instead of Ruddock threatening protesting detainees, Chris Bowen is making the threats. Lets not forget it was the ALP which introduced mandatory detention for asylum seekers in the first place. The Green’s must hold whatever party is in power to account for their abusive policies towards mandatory detention and the asylum seeker movement must pressure the Greens to take a real stand on this issue, not just mouth empty platitudes at rallies as they posture as opponents of mandatory dentention.
I have written a sample letter below that could be emailed to Green’s politicians
Dear……
I am calling on the Green’s and in particular MP Adam Bandt to do all in their power to pressure the ALP to change its regressive and increasingly punitive policies towards asylum seekers. Specifically it is unconscionable for the Greens to continue to support the ALP in the House of Representatives. In addition the Greens will have significant bargaining power soon in the Senate. The Greens say they oppose mandatory detention yet they are keeping in power a government that is now incarcerating over 6500 innocent people in detention centres including over 1000 children some 500 of which are either orphans or unaccompanied minors. In addition almost one third of the people in detention are from Afghanistan a country in which Australia is currently fighting a war, yet asylum seekers from that country are told it is safe for them to return. Rather than lessening its oppression of asylum seekers the Gillard ALP government is in the process of introducing even more punitive policies including changing the Migration Act to make it easier to deport protesting asylum seekers and the reintroduction of Temporary Protection Visa’s as well. I would argue that is highly unlikely the Greens would vote in Parliament to sustain a Liberal Government that supported these policies and I cannot understand why the Green’s are continuing to maintain the ALP in power. If the Greens are to maintain credibility with the progressive voter base that elected them, then they must be prepared to use their electoral power in Parliament at every opportunity to force the ALP to change its policies. If it does not then many members of the public will hold the Greens to be complicit in the cruel treatment of asylum seekers in Australia. This is a fundamental test of the integrity of the Greens. Please do not fail this test and tell Julia Gillard and the ALP that the Greens will withdraw their support of the Government if they do not immediately end their cruel policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
Yours sincerely,
References
Villawood stand-off fails to shake Greens' support http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/24/3199247.htm?section=justin Australia: Villawood riot sparks protests at other immigration detention centres
http://wsws.org/articles/2011/apr2011/immi-a25.shtml
Detention Protests spread across the country.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/detention-protests-spread-across-co...
Comments
Re: Its time to demand the Greens take real action against ...
I agree that action is needed on this issue. But why target the Greens?
Why not target ALP members like Laurie Ferguson and Antony Albanese who claim to be the refugee's best friend and ask them to cross the floor? Why not target the independents who have the same power as Adam Bandt? Why not target the LibLabs responsible for the treatment of refugees and the dogwhistle polics which encourages racist attitudes in this country?
In Marrickville, the Greens were half of the majority of councillors who recently voted for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel until that country complies with international humanitarian law. One of the three demands of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is that Israel comply with international law on refugees and allow those driven from or who left their homes in 1948 and in 1967 to return to those homes. Not one refugee organisation or activist spoke up to support the BDS campaign. Although the Greens were only 50% of those who voted for the Council's BDS campaign they took 100% of the media vilification. Where were you then?
Re: Its time to demand the Greens take real action against ...
Umm, what do you actually suggest? That the greens withdraw support for Gillard govt due to its immigration policies, spurring an election fought on refugees where Tony Abbott would almost certainly win and the alp move further to the right on their way to defeat?
How would that help refugees? It's a naive and unintelligent political strategy.
Re: Its time to demand the Greens take real action against ...
Firstly - it is right to target the Greens because they champion themselves as the biggest supporters of asylum seeker rights in Parliament and indeed can often be seen in the media and at rallies claiming just this. Its a waste of time in the short term trying to persuade the racist ALP and Liberal Party to change their ways - thats why we need the Greens to FORCE the ALP to change its policies
Secondly - yes if necessary the Greens should withdraw their support for the ALP if they do not change their asylum seeker policy. As the article stated things are actually WORSE under the Gillard Government in terms of asylum seekers than under Howard. How is it "intelligent" to keep a government in power that runs concentration camps - how exactly is the current Green strategy achieving anything in terms of asylum seeker rights. There is an old saying - if what you are doing is not working - try something else!
Re: Its time to move into the real world...
If the Greens withdraw from the alliance then they will have no ability at all to influence events and we will have an Abbot Liberal Government. Is that what you want? How will this help refugees?
Re: Its time to demand the Greens take real action against ...
I agree with Flowerpower. The Greens cannot continue to devolve from who they once claimed to be and merely be a party pursuantly obsessed with its growth. In terms of the Labor Party there are people, yes like Anthony Albanese, who argue the house within their corrupted practices such as caucus for the end to mandatory detention. In 2004 at the ALP national meeting 30% of the ALP voted to end mandatory detention. There are Senators such as Louise Pratt who are against mandatory detention and she was part of Labor for Refugees. However no amount of pressure will move Labor politicians from their prescribed stance that they publically stand by the party line or keep quiet.
However the Greens have built themselves on election promises premised on social justice equity and during the last election they argued that mandatory detention should be at an end. However now that they have the opportunity of leverage they should live up to it and maintain their integrity and those who voted for them be able to maintain their investiture of goodwill and faith. Andrew Wilkie appears to have more integrity and credibility than the collective Greens. The Greens, yes should withdraw support for Labor if Labor will not end mandatory detention. Yes, let them go to an election if so and they will continue to maintain their 12% and may find they finish up with 15%. Their Senators will not be affected as they are elected to six year terms. It is the House of Representatives that will be at risk and we are talking one Greens position, and they may finish up with two or three if they demonstrate such courage to Australia. If Labor will change the cruel mandatory detention policies well it will be their fault, not the Greens if they withdraw their support, if the Liberals get up. However the Greens could then be considered credible and a serious threat to any incumbent government.
How dare the Greens grandstand with the argument that they will work to shape outcomes to middle ground behind the scenes? Such compromise is often the onset of the corruption of a party's morality and propriety.
Flowerpower is correct in terms of moral and political convictions and the Greens have to stop just speaking about everything and rather act towards outcomes. Personally I have been disappointed in the Greens in their lack of conviction to generate a Senate Inquiry into Australian Deaths in Custody, however off my work and campaigning they have merely put forward a pointless Motion to 'acknowledge' the incarceration rates and deaths in custody. Woo hoo! So what! Similarly with our Asylum Seekers, they have done very little, actually nothing at all. They need to put the pressure on the Gillard Government to end mandatory detention and between the Greens and Labor they can do this! If not, then go to an election. By not removing their support of any Gillard Government that continues with the 23 detention centres, with three more to be built, with the cruel conditions, with the slow processing, with detention centre deaths in custody, with immigration deaths in custody THEN in effect the Greens are complicit in supporting government policies such as mandatory detention.
I was once a Greens candidate and if I had been elected to parliament I assure that under no circumstance whatsoever would I have followed any party line that in effect perpetuated for instance mandatory detention. No way would I do this. The Greens should be put under pressure to fulfil their promises - they do not deserve any further honeymoon period. It should not be Refugees advocates and their groups that knock themselves trying to make a difference. I have just returned from Curtin Detention Centre, with 50 others, after more than 5,000kms of road time and 4 days of protests. There were 17 arrests and in the end we were issued with move on orders. We made some difference however it is the Greens who can make the only difference that matters - and that is force Labor to end mandatory detention, raise the numbers coming, speed up peoples' right to citizenship and freedom, or they should withdraw support for Labor. End of story.
Gerry Georgatos
Convener of the Human Rights Alliance
and one of the Refugees Rights Action Network (Perth) that went to Curtin during Easter.
Re: Another Abbot supporter?
If Adam Bandt brings down the government we will have Abbot in power. How will that further the cause of human rights?
Now the Malaysian solution!
Are the Greens going to keep supporting a government that has come up with "The Malaysian Solution" to send asylum seekers "to the back of the que". This is beyond offensive - how the can Greens keep supporting these racists!
http://www.theage.com.au/national/gillard-announces-malaysian-solution-2...