When
Where
Parliament House
15 Mitchell St
Garramilla NT 0800
Australia
Why
Though the Coalition government’s tenure has ended, some of the destructive refugee and asylum seeker policies that have dominated the past decade of border politics, endure.
There are still 200 refugees stranded on Nauru and PNG. Those in PNG are still not eligible to gain resettlement at all under the NZ deal announced in March. For those refugees in Nauru, the devastating COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unacceptable lack of access to food and water.
There are 1200 refugees in Australia from offshore (Medevac refugees and families from Nauru) who still have no future and are being refused permanent visas. Some may get resettlement under the NZ deal. But they face waiting as long as three more years. And 505 of them will miss out altogether, left behind without any permanent resettlement options. The Nadesalingam family, despite their release, have had permanent visas denied.
The Labor Government have remained committed to boat turnbacks and offshore processing, despite decades of evidence that it has violated the human rights of those seeking safety in Australia. On their first day in office, they confirmed the turnback of a Sri Lankan refugee boat, and they have pledged to continue boat turnbacks.
Australia continues to assert that both offshore processing and boat turn backs have been successful deterrence strategies to people smugglers. They claim they have reduced deaths at sea. The data in fact supports that the biggest increase in arrivals of asylum seekers by boat happened in the year following the commencement of offshore processing. There have been multiple reports of Australian naval vessels returning boats to the edge of Indonesian waters, or of asylum seekers being returned to countries like Vietnam and Sri Lanka and facing imprisonment despite reassurances from those respective governments. There have been accounts of asylum seekers being returned to their home country only to reattempt the perilous journey and seek refuge in another country.
In addition to contravening international human rights law, both arms of Australia’s strategy do not address a key truth echoed by former PM Malcolm Fraser: for as long as people flee war and persecution, there will be those that seek safety at any cost, via any means possible.
We ask you (Darwin based folk and visitors who believe in the cause) to gather on Saturday August 6th at 1030am at the Parliament House forecourt to ask for justice for refugees and end this state inflicted cruelty. Our demands are to: provide permanent protection visas for all on temporary protection visas, end offshore detention, provide adequate medical care to all refugees and asylum seekers in held detention, and end boat turn backs. We call on Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil to immediately evacuate all refugees currently held on Nauru and Papua New Guinea to Australia and will circulate a petition to this effect prior to the event, watch this space.
NB: This is a COVID-19 safe event, and all NT Government mandated social distancing measures will be implemented. The wearing of masks is recommended.
Please bring sunscreen, a hat and plenty of water.
For updates check the Facebook event.
Contact
DASSAN
[email protected]
dassan.org
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