BY JIM McILROY
BRISBANE Trade unions need to more actively support refugees' rights and expose their members to the truth about the plight of asylum seekers and the evils of Australia's refugee detention centres. This was the theme of a public forum sponsored by the Brisbane Refugee Action Collective (RAC), held on October 17 at the Trades and Labor Council building.
Speakers were Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union member and RAC activist Elliot Morland, Australian Services Union and Labor for Refugees convenor Matt Collins, president of the Hazara Ethnic Society Hassan Ghulam and Queensland secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union Bill Marklew.
The forum also discussed the diversity of the refugee support movement and the tactics needed to take it forward, such as what action was needed to prevent mass deportations of refugees whose temporary protection visas will shortly expire and the campaign against the proposed detention centre at Pinkenba.
The meeting unanimously adopted a resolution which concluded: "We call on the Queensland Council of Unions to work with groups such as Amnesty International, Labor for Refugees and the Refugee Action Collective to develop policy on the issues of deportation and the prospect of a detention centre being built in Queensland.
"This meeting resolves to work together with those who are campaigning for refugees' rights to build support for such policy in the wider union movement in Queensland."
From Green Left Weekly, October 23, 2002.
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