World Refugee Day: rally to end mandatory detention

Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 13:00 to 15:40

The Labor government has continued the anti-refugee policies of the Howard era, and the need for a public presence on the streets is as great now as it was then: Asylum seekers still face mandatory detention for fleeing persecution - almost 7000 people are currently locked up; Labor claimed it would process most people within 90 days, yet the average period of imprisonment exceeds 200 days; the government’s promised to get children out of detention by June this year, yet 1000 children are still locked up; the recent proposal to deport 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia will condemn refugees to even greater hardship than they suffer in Australia; the plan to deny permanent visas to refugees convicted of a crime in detention means a return to one of Howard’s most draconian anti-refugee policies: temporary protection visas.

Rally at Sydney Town Hall

Endorsed by: Balmain for Refugees, ChilOut, Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (NSW), Cross Border Collective, Edmund Rice Centre, NSW Greens, Labor 4 Refugees (NSW), Refugee Action Coalition, Sydney University Anti-Racism Collective, Union Aid Abroad/APHEDA, UTS Anti-Racism Collective