Advocacy group Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees (RISE) released the statement below on August 15.
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There is nothing to be surprised about. Once again, the government has used puppets to say yes to “offshore processing”. None of the three individuals on the Houston Panel have been appointed by refugee community groups or advocates, and therefore it comes as no surprise that their proposal is in line with the government’s own offshore solutions.
Australia
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre released the statement below on August 14.
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The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) is shocked and disappointed with the release of the expert panel’s recommendations as they focus on deterrence, punishment and breach the very reason the Refugee Convention was established — offering protection to people fleeing persecution. The recommendations are a step backwards in Australia's humanity and will affect our reputation as a defender of human rights.
At least eight same-sex couples said “I do” in a mass illegal wedding ceremony on the steps of Melbourne's Old Treasury Building on August 11.
More than 3000 people attended Equal Love's annual mass protest in the Melbourne CBD.
The protest, which began with a rally at the State Library, was part of a series of actions held in cities across Australia. It has been an annual event since the former John Howard government changed the Marriage Act to say that marriage is an institution between a man and a woman.
The Refugee Action Coalition released the statement below on August 13.
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The Refugee Action Coalition has strongly condemned the Houston panel’s recommendations for offshore processing as made public at their press conference this afternoon.
About 1000 people rallied in Sydney on August 11 as part of a national day of action for equal marriage rights. The rallies took place on the eighth anniversary of the former Howard government's decision to ban lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people from marrying.
Up to 200 people crowded into the Mori Gallery on August 8 to attend the official opening of the Beautiful Art for Innocent Children exhibition.
The exhibition was sponsored by Agent Orange Justice to aid “the innocent children being born now in Vietnam with horrific birth defects as a consequence of Agent Orange/dioxin remaining in the soil and the consequential genetic damage continuing for generations”.
Refugee rights supporters gathered in Melbourne on August 12 in a protest organised by the Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) to demand no offshore processing of refugees.
Armidale Action on Coal Seam Gas released the statement below on August 13.
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Armidale Action on Coal Seam Gas has raised questions about the so-called energy forum being held in Armidale this week, saying the invitation-only event smacks of a coal seam gas promotional event that is ignoring other energy options and riding roughshod over the interests of local farmers.
The Coal Terminal Action Group this week launched a community-led dust and health study, following the application by Port Waratah Coal Services to construct yet another coal terminal in Newcastle (T4).
For many years, communities living around the port, along the coal train lines and near the mines have been calling for the NSW government to do the research to find out what health impacts all the coal dust and diesel emissions are having on them.
Protesters gathered in Perth on August 11 as part of a national day of protest that called on the Australian government to reject the FV Margiris, one of the world's biggest fishing trawlers, from fishing in Australian waters.
The Socialist Alliance NSW released the statement below on August 13.
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“Building larger and larger carparks next to railway stations is not the solution to congestion,” says John Coleman, the lead Socialist Alliance candidate for the Woodville ward in the Parramatta local election. “Public transport needs to be planned and maintained to provide a complete alternative to cars — not to encourage even more cars onto the road.”
Coleman is a CityRail worker, a public transport activist and a long-time resident of Granville.
If your home was going to be demolished in 15 minutes, what would you save? Facing a life of poverty, would you salvage valuables? Or, would you retrieve sentimental items, knowing that every day your people lose pieces of their ancient history and culture? For Israeli “refusenik” Sahar Vardi, watching Palestinians being forced to make this decision at gunpoint just a few kilometres from her own home changed her life.
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