Emergency Melbourne protest action: No return to the Pacific Solution, No to Offshore Processing

RALLY

Wednesday 15 August, 12.30
Immigration Department building, corner Lonsdale St & Spring St, Melbourne

The Gillard government has caved in to the Liberal’s demands to kick the boot harder into refugees, and is using recommendations from its "expert panel" to introduce new legislation to parliament this week to immediately reopen offshore processing centres on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Manus Island, and deny family reunion to refugees.

These are the same offshore detention locations where the Howard government dumped refugees for up to seven years under its Pacific Solution. Refugees sent here are effectively removed from Australia’s legal system, without access to lawyers or community support. More suicides and self-harm will result from a return to the ‘Pacific Solution’.

The Refugee Action Collective has called an emergency protest to demand no return to the brutal ‘Pacific Solution’ of the Howard era. It is expensive, it is cruel, and asylum seekers without other options will continue to seek asylum by boat, which they have every right to do.

“The expert panel have hard hearts, soft heads, and are experts in nothing but cruelty” said Chris Breen for the Refugee Action Collective “They are recommending the effective excision of the whole of Australia from the migration zone and new restrictions on family reunion for asylum seekers– even John Howard never went that far.

No expert could possible suggest that ‘regular migration pathways’ are available to asylum seekers. Just 97 people were resettled from Indonesia between July 2011 and April 2012. Without guaranteed resettlement asylum seekers will have no option but to come by boat.

These so called experts appear to be unfamiliar with the 1951 refugee convention. We remind them that under the convention which Australia has signed, asylum seekers have the legal right to seek asylum, whether they come by boat or plane."

The expert panel call for a ‘no advantage’ principle is disingenuous. There is no queue. Julia Gillard says that refugees would have to remain there for long enough 'to equalise treatment' as if they had waited in Indonesia or Malaysia--where the wait is an average of 20 years!

“ The expert panel, the ALP and the Liberals are lying through their teeth when they say these policies are driven by concerns over deaths at sea. These policies are driven not by boats that sink, but by boats that arrive.” said Chris Breen

Julia Gillard’s real attitude can be seen in her message to asylum seekers “Stay where you are. Don’t move”. Is this a serious option for Tamils from Sri Lanka, fleeing war, torture and persecution, from a government facing credible allegation of war crimes?

Compare Gillard’s mean spiritedness with Turkish Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who said of Syrian refugees “we welcome our brothers who come here with open arms” There are currently 60,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey. Australia has never had more than 5609 refugees come by boat in a single year. Permanent migration to Australia is expected to be 190,000 in 2013. Australia can easily accommodate every refugee coming by boat and every refugee currently in Indonesia.

The panel knows refugees will continue to come, which is why it is backing dangerous ‘disruption strategies’. 97.5% of boats arrive safely as ex-ambassador Tony Kevin has shown. Australian policies, of disruption, criminalisation of people smuggling, scuttling of boats, and serious delays in rescuing boats in distress, have made the journey by boat far more dangerous than it need be.

The panel also backed the Malaysia deal that will see refugees attempting to get to Australia dumped on Malaysia where they will languish for years, potentially decades without basic rights to work, education or genuine protection.

The panel even backed the possibility boats can be towed back , if it becomes ‘safe’ to do so. But they mean safe for Australian foreign policy, not ‘safe’ for asylum seekers. Under John Howard's government, five asylum seekers were killed during one attempt to turn the boats back.

“What is the Labor Party doing backing the report in its entirety? “ asked Chris Breen

"That the panel would back Gillard’s general direction was never in doubt, but it has opened a door for her to drag the ALP down dark alley ways, that would have previously been unacceptable to the ALP, and unthinkable in aftermath of Kevin Rudd’s election.

We remind Julia Gillard that ALP party platform states 'Labor will ensure that asylum seekers who arrive by irregular means will not be punished for their mode of arrival’ “

Join this emergency action to oppose this return to the worst of Howard-era policies.

Organised by Refugee Action Collective http://rac-vic.org/

LET THE REFUGEES IN

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Comments

We need to get the message out straight away.

Some points:

We can’t go back to the worst of Howard’s policies – we need a humanitarian, regional response that is based on legal protections for refugees.

Expanding detention centres across our region with no time limits or legal protections won’t save lives.

We know returning to cruel Howard-era policies won’t save lives. Even after Howard brought in the Pacific 'Solution' 353 women and children died on the SIEV X on its way to Australia.

Going back to the Howard policies ignores the vast bulk of expert submissions, from people like former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and refugee law academics, and from organisations like the Refugee Council of Australia, GetUp!, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Amnesty International and others. (You can read these submissions at http://greensmps.org.au/content/news-stories/we-can-save-lives-today)

The Panel has proposed excising all of Australia from our Migration Act. The Howard Government attempted this in 2005, but we, the ALP and some courageous Coalition members blocked this terrible measure. If the ALP backs down on this it will be yet another a betrayal of principles.

The Panel heard clearly from experts that dumping people in Malaysia is simply unacceptable and unsafe, accepting the Greens’ concerns on Malaysia are justified. The Panel has ignored legal experts’ warnings that any other punitive offshore processing also breaches international law.

A New Regional Plan of Action, like that proposed by the Greens, is the only way to protect people seeking our protection and give them safer pathways to secure lives. That’s the only way to reduce the pressure for them to board boats.

Please help us get this message out.

1. Write to the newspapers.

Write to your national and statewide newspapers here:

The Australian: letters@theaustralian.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald: letters@smh.com.au
Daily Telegraph: www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/your-say
The Age: letters@theage.com.au
Herald Sun: www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/letter
Canberra Times: www.canberratimes.com.au/content/writetous
Courier Mail: www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/editorials/letters-form
Adelaide Advertiser: www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/send-letter
Hobart Mercury: www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/your-say
West Australian: letters@wanews.com.au
NT News: www.ntnews.com.au/ntnews/letter-to-the-editor.html

Always make sure to include your full name, address and a phone number, as you won’t be published without them.

Write to your local paper too. Your letter is almost guaranteed to get published – and local papers are read by more people than national ones, and always by local MPs. You can find many local papers and their contact details at http://www.newspapers.com.au/.

2. Let your friends know about the Greens’ refugee plan. Post this message on Facebook or Twitter and link to our page.

The Houston Panel has recommended a return to the worst of the Howard Government’s policies: they want to return to pushing refugees to detention centres in other countries, to keep them out of sight, out of mind.

Setting up a chain of detention centres with no time limits or legal protections across theour region won’t save lives.

We know what happened last time we had offshore processing in Nauru like this – the worst mental health crisis that we have seen in Australia's shameful detention history.

Instead, the Greens have detailed proposals to protect refugees and save lives. They are legal, respect human rights, and would make a difference to people today.
First, we need to provide safe pathways to a secure life to people waiting in our region. Then, we need a regional response that is legal, effective and compassionate. Experts have argued for it. History has proven it. This policy will work.

http://greensmps.org.au/content/news-stories/we-can-save-lives-today
3. Vote in these polls on bringing back Howard’s offshore processing

Many media outlets are running polls on this issue. Have your voice heard:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/boost-humanitarian-intake-t...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/thedrum/polls/

4. Text mX to get the message out.
Texting this free newspaper is powerful. It’s easy to get published and puts your view in front of hundreds of thousands of people - over 700,000 people pick up a copy of an edition of mX each weekday.

In your text, focus on one main reason why the proposed return to Howard’s cruel policies is the wrong way for Australia to treat refugees.

Brisbane: 1992 0200

It’s a good idea to save your local MP's number in your phone, so that you can text in easily whenever you want to.

More information

The plan we took to the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers combines immediate action to save the lives of people who are seeking Australia's protection by giving them safer pathways to a secure life, with investment in a New Regional Plan of Action to protect refugees across our region. You can read more at http://greensmps.org.au/content/news-stories/we-can-save-lives-today
First, to provide safe pathways to people waiting in our region, we can immediately:

Resettle many more assessed refugees from Indonesia and Malaysia, and increase Australia’s humanitarian intake, so that persecuted people can see ways to safely get out of camps and start a new life;

Increase funding to the UNHCR in Malaysia and Indonesia, so that they can assess asylum claims faster and end the despair for people waiting;

Open up more family reunion places in Australia’s humanitarian program;
De-link the quotas for onshore and offshore humanitarian visas;

Review the ban on people from some countries seeking protection by air;
Codify Australia’s sea rescue policies and increase Indonesia’s capacity so people are rescued in time; and

Establish an Australian Ambassador for Refugee Protection.

For the long term, the only proven response is a genuine, regional assessment system under a New Regional Plan of Action. Australia can help to create that system, as we did in the 1970s and 80s. It worked for thousands of refugees then; it can work again.

Authorised by Andrew Bartlett

102 McDonald Road
Windsor, QLD 4030
Australia

www.qld.greens.org.au