Month: January 2026

Labor for Refugees Supporters and Friends:

A motion opposing the Anti Fairness Bill follows.  You may find it useful for your L4R group and may also decide to run a campaign around it. 

DRAFT MOTION FOR ALP BRANCHES –

1. THE ANTI FAIRNESS ACT (the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Act 2025 – the Anti-Fairness Act)
2. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF a 30 year AUSTRALIAN CONVICT COLONY in NAURU

MOTION

This Branch calls on the Labor Government to –

1. Make public as a matter of urgency the MOU with Nauru to establish a 30 year, Australian funded penal colony for effectively stateless non-citizens with criminal records and/or character traits that the Minister does not want in Australia.
2. Make public any request made by the Commonwealth to the UNHCR and any response from the UNHCR as mandated by the 2023 ALP Platform (page 141, at paragraph 5).
3. State why all Australian Territories and States cannot cope with the non-citizens in the targeted cohort, given that all jurisdictions have established criminal justice and post-penal systems for citizens.
4. Make public the alternatives that were considered by the government to the MOU with Nauru and the Anti-Fairness Act.
5. If no alternatives were considered, commit to a public enquiry into and report on alternatives.
6. Commit to not transporting any non-citizen to Nauru unless and until all reasonable measures have been taken by the Commonwealth, with Australian criminal justice and post-release professional partners, to rehabilitate, treat and settle that specific non-citizen in Australia to the same extent as is provided for a like citizen;  and to making a public statement, tabled in the Parliament and sent to the Government of Nauru, setting out those reasonable measures and stating that they failed in relation to that non-citizen.
7. Commit to establishing an independent Australian public visitor to Nauru to assess the situation of the very few non-citizens who were impossible for Australia to settle and so were transported to Nauru, and to report back to Parliament within one month of the visit in relation to each transportee.

BACKGROUND

The Government passed the Anti-Fairness Bill on 4th September 2025.

In terms of values and principles, the new law will circumvent Australia’s own rules of natural justice and procedural fairness when deporting people to Nauru and potentially other countries. It undermines our federal ALP platform, at 5.6, that Labor believes that Australia’s human rights obligations should be adhered to and understood by all Australians. Labor has a majority of seats in the parliament – 94 in fact. Added to that, the Liberal National Coalition are in disarray. There is no longer a Peter Dutton or a Tony Abbott in opposition. There is therefore no need to respond to their racist, dog-whistling ways.

This Bill has the potential to remove basic legal protections central to Australia’s democratic system, allowing the Government to forcibly deport people without warning; there will be no obligation to consider their health needs, or if they potentially face persecution or serious harm in the countries to which they are removed. This law has the worst aspects of Australia’s punitive offshore regime. Crucially, we may see the indefinite separation of families, including separation from family members who are Australian citizens.

When people are sent indefinitely against their will to a small island like Nauru: those deported will suffer greatly and their physical and mental health will worsen. The Australian Human Rights Commission has systematically documented such past disregards for human rights. Moreover, Nauru is a dysfunctional island state whose government has been associated with corruption.

The new law is a steep cost to taxpayers: $408 million paid to Nauru in the first year of a new offshore arrangement, with $70 million to be paid for each subsequent year – a total of $2.5 billion over 30 years. It would be far cheaper to rehabilitate people within Australia, or recommend that they stay in jail, if they reoffend and their crimes are serious.

With the passing of this Bill, people of refugee backgrounds are feeling scared and vulnerable. The bill says that you are never truly Australian if you have come from elsewhere.

The Government has said these laws will apply to a small group of people; however, the legislation is written broadly and could easily be used by future governments to detain or remove a much wider group of people. This is very dangerous. The laws are a slippery slope to future abuse.

Labor Party policies state that our laws should uphold fairness and justice, supporting the rights of all those in Australia, no matter what their origins. This is in alignment with our federal Labor Platform, the values of humane Australians and International human rights law.  If we want a progressive mainstream party in government, we must oppose this type of dangerous cruel policy.

Motion to be sent to:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Write to:

The Hon Anthony Albanese MPPrime MinisterParliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600

FOR LABOR FOR REFUGEES MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS.

FRINGE EVENT ONLINE. Fringe Events were not held at the NSW ALP Conference in 2024. The Labor for Refugees Fringe Event is now being held online on 27th November 2024 at 6.30pm

Please join us for our online L4R Fringe Event “ASYLUM MATTERS”

Speakers include :

· Dr Graham Thom, international refugee specialist

· Frances Rush OAM, Asylum Seekers Centre CEO

· Thouraya Lahmadi, refugee and writer

We have never witnessed a global displacement crisis or a local poverty crisis for people seeking asylum like those we face today.In this session, international refugee specialist Dr. Graham Thom, Asylum Seekers Centre CEO Frances Rush OAM, and refugee and writer Thouraya Lahmadi will unpack the trends, insights, and experiences that must shape refugee policy in Australia.

From exploring the High Court’s ruling on immigration detention to highlighting the stark reality for a person seeking safety without a safety net, this session will highlight what we must do in order to provide protection for those who need it.

There will be time for questions at the end.

If you wish to receive the Zoom link for this event please email Nizza SianoThe Zoom link will be sent to you prior to the event.We welcome existing and new members as well as anyone who is interested inhearing what we can do to address the crisis which we face today, of global

displacement and a local poverty crisis for people seeking asylum.

Contributed to this site by Robin Rothfield, former National Convenor, Labor for Refugees

I came across a more recent episode of filoxenia on Zakynthos. In the first week of November 2001, a Turkish-flagged boat, the Brenier, carrying 714 Iraqi Kurds and Afghan refugees, broke down in the lonian Sea. Abandoned by its crew, the ship was rescued by the Greek coast guard.

The Brenier was towed to Zakynthos Town. As the crowded boat moved towards the port, the townsfolk lined the waterfront and cheered. The local baker was waiting with 700 sandwiches. Others residents brought food, clothes and blankets. Pregnant women and babies were ferried to hospital, or housed in hotels.

Observers were stunned by this outpouring of empathy. It convinced wary Greek officials to treat the new arrivals humanely. A number of families who arrived on the Brenier have since been provided a home on the island.

When I heard of this incident I recalled my night journeys on the Ionian Sea. My lasting impression of Zakynthos is of a glow of lights approaching in the dark. I think of our treatment of strangers, here in Australia, in recent years. At the time the Brenier was being towed into Zakynthos, off the north-west coast of Australia, asylum seekers were being turned back out to sea.

Catherine CrittendenJuly 28, 2020Uncategorized

Can you help Shan? He is currently in the Mantra Prison in Melbourne, but with sufficient funds donated, he could be sponsored to live in freedom in Canada. L4R member Jill Horton explains how here.