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The recent decisions to freeze processing of all claims by asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, and to re-open the notorious Curtin detention centre, are taking us back to the dark days of Australia's recent past.
Refugees should be welcomed to this country, not vilified, victimised and used as political footballs to secure electoral advantage. Seeking asylum is not a crime - it is a human right.
Many Australians were involved in the campaign to resist the demonisation of refugees before and after the infamous "Tampa election" in 2001. We need to make our voices heard again. We need to make sure that it is not only those promoting intolerance and inhumane policies who are heard in this election year.
A broad coalition of individuals and groups, under the unbrella of the "Refugee Advocates Network", have got together to organise a major rally on World Refugee Day, Sunday June 20.
We will be calling on the government to reverse the freeze on processing asylum claims, and opposing the re-opening of Curtin Detention Centre.