Zoe Kenny, Melbourne

October 19, 40 people attended a public forum at the Victorian Trades Hall organised by the Refugee Action Collective (RAC) to discuss perspectives for the refugee-rights movement after the re-election of the Coalition government.

Ahmed Raza, an Afghan temporary protection visa holder, spoke of his worry that he may not be allowed to stay in Australia, now that the Howard government has been re-elected. RAC activist Sandra Bloodworth pointed out that parliament is not the decisive factor in achieving progressive change and emphasised the importance of grassroots movements on the streets.

Federal Labor MP Anna Burke, who has been thanked by the refugee-rights movement in the past for breaking ranks with ALP policy on the issue of refugees, raised the ire of many at the forum when she spoke of the need to maintain mandatory detention of refugees as a means of curbing the spread of “communicable diseases”.

From Green Left Weekly, October 27, 2004.
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