ALP members unstitch their lips on refugee rights

BY JENNY LONG

SYDNEY — Around 90 Labor Party and union members gathered on January 22 to hold the first organising meeting of a Labor for Refugees group.

Secretary of the NSW Labor Council John Robertson announced the group's formation in December. At the time, he told Workers Online that he regretted not taking a more active pro-refugee stand during the November federal election campaign.

Notice of the meeting circulated by trade unions said that "in response to the ALP's bipartisan, anti-humanitarian stance on asylum seekers, union and ALP members have called for a more progressive policy".

The group plans to campaign within the Labor Party "to change ALP policy on mandatory detention and refugee persecution", and within the broader community to support the growing refugee rights movement. It rejects the off shore detention program (the so-called "Pacific solution"), wants an end to temporary protection visas and a judicial inquiry into the treatment of refugees in detention centres.

The group decided that its membership would be open to ALP members, union members or "anyone associated with the trade union movement". It will meet monthly. It adopted a charter similar to the Queensland group, with minor amendments.

A difference is that the Queensland Labor for Refugees' charter makes clear that it is a group for ALP members only, and that the group will respect the "solidarity of the Australian Labor Party".

The Sydney group provided a speaker for the Resistance-initiated picket and solidarity hunger strike outside the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs on January 23, indicating its willingnes to work with pro-refugee groups.

From Green Left Weekly, January 30, 2002.

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From GLW issue 478