Author: Jenny Haines

Catherine CrittendenMay 2, 2019Uncategorized

An informative article by Claire Higgins of the Kaldor Centre UNSW

The politics of “border control” is at odds with Australia’s
successful record of humanitarian resettlement.

Judith Betts, 2019, ‘Malcolm Fraser’s real mistake’, Inside Story, 12 April 2019. https://insidestory.org.au/malcolm-frasers-real-mistake/

Judith Betts and Mehal Krayem, 2019. ‘Strategic Othering: Framing Lebanese Migration and Fraser’s ‘mistake”, Australian Journal of Politics and History: Volume 65, Number 1, 2019, pp.100–114.  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajph.12538

Judith Betts and Claire Higgins, ‘The Sri Lankan Civil War and Australia’s Migration Policy Response: a historical case study with contemporary implications’ (2017) 4(2) Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies 272,  

https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/publication/sri-lankan-civil-war-and-australias-migration-policy-response-historical-case-study

Labor for Refugees strongly supports the position of a number of organisations regarding the urgent need to release immigration detainees in line with recommendations of peak medical bodies and human rights lawyers advising the federal government on their response to COVID-19. In particular, Labor for Refugees endorses the statement made by Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow who has declared that these detainees should be put into community detention where it is safe to do so.  He said that putting people in community detention would enable these people to practise social distancing, as we are all urged to do, and that this must be done as soon as possible.

Commissioner Santow’s position aligns with the joint position of the World Health Organization (WHO), UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration (OIM) and UN Commissioner for Human Rights.

The link to Commissioner Santow’s SBS interview, where he clearly sets out his position on this issue and the reasons for it, follows

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/human-rights-commissioner-calls-for-immigration-detainees-release-over-coronavirus-infection-fears

L4R NSW held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday evening.  We had a wonderful guest speaker in Dr Daniel Ghezelbash who heads Macquarie University’s new Social Justice Clinic.  He teaches courses in administrative law, human rights, refugee law and social justice advocacy and operates a pro bono refugee law practice and is a Special Counsel at the National Justice Project. Dan is also a member of the management committee of Refugee Advice and Casework Services, the only dedicated free refugee legal centre in NSW. He has written a book Refuge Lost: Asylum Law in an Interdependent World, which examines the spread of mandatory detention, maritime interdiction and offshore processing policies from the United States to Australia and beyond. Dan spoke about Australia’s current hard-line asylum policies which could trigger a race to the bottom, with the potential to completely unravel the international refugee protection system.

At our AGM we held our election.  Two new positions of Junior Vice-Presidents were added to the NSW Executive.  The following members were elected as Office Bearers. 

Co-Convenors (2):  Jenny Haines & Shane Prince

Vice President: Mairi Petersen

Jnr Vice Presidents (2):  Sabrin Farooqui & Shannen Potter

Treasurer & Social Media: Jenny Haines

Secretary:  Nizza Siano

Assistant Secretary & Webmaster:  Cath Crittenden

National Co-ordinating Committee Members (3): Nizza Siano, Jenny Haines, Shane Prince

Returning Officer:  Chris Haviland.

We raise issues within the Party and share information from external bodies. Here are some of the issues we are currently raising:

1. Letter sent on 27 September 2019 requesting that the Opposition MPs, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, Senator Penny Wong, and Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus initiate an inquiry in Parliament into the conduct of Judge Sandy Street. The inquiry is to make a finding whether there has been proven misbehaviour within the meaning of Section 72 of the Constitution. Awaiting response.
2. Letter dated 25 October 2019 to Senator Kristina Keneally regarding the plight of the Burundi refugees, asking her to raise this matter in the Senate and demand the Government raise this letter with the UN Human Rights Council as soon as practical. Awaiting response.
3. Letter dated 29 November 2019 sent to Senator Kristina Keneally regarding the detention of two Saudi Arabian homosexual men in Villiawood, asking her to lobby for them to remain in the community on bridging visas while their applications for asylum are processed. Awaiting response.
4. Letter dated 29 November 2019 sent to Senator Kristina Keneally regarding Chapter 9 of the National Platform ‘A Fair Go for All’ which does not mention work rights except for the reference to lobbying countries of first asylum asking them to provide a number of services to refugees, including work rights; urging Labor in government to grant these rights. Awaiting response.
5. Letter dated 15 January 2020 sent by the L4R National Coordinating Committee sent to Senator Kristina Keneally about the appalling conditions for refugees in the Bomana Prison in Port Moresby. The remain detainees were removed from Bomana on 23 January 2020.

Catherine CrittendenNovember 4, 2015Uncategorized

NSW State Conference 2016 – Labor for Refugees Motion

A number of refugee motions have been submitted by ALP Members, to be placed on the agenda for the ALP NSW Conference which will take place on the weekend of the 13/14 February 2016.  Labor for Refugees NSW has drafted a refugee motion which reflects our principle policies. It has also been submitted as a Conference agenda item.  A similarly worded motion was carried at the ALP Tasmanian Conference in August this year.  We are hopeful that this motion will be adopted at the NSW Conference.

Catherine CrittendenMarch 1, 2019Uncategorized

Insightful review by Genevieve Lloyd Published on Inside Story

Read together, Behrouz Boochani’s No Friend but the Mountains and the Uluru Statement challenge us to look differently at national boundaries.

Catherine CrittendenMay 24, 2016Uncategorized

The Kaldor Centre comments as follows:

Labor’s National Platform states: Labor will require the National Security Legislation Monitor to advise on establishing other mechanisms for:

• Independent review of the adverse security assessments that ensures procedural fairness while recognising that processes may be required to protect intelligence sources and methodology; and
• The management of those whose adverse assessment is upheld.

Labor will explore options other than indefinite detention, including third country resettlement, to deal with refugees with adverse security assessments in a way that does not jeopardise Australia’s national security interests.

Catherine CrittendenMay 11, 2016Uncategorized

Anna Burke: ‘It’s time for a rational debate about refugees’ DI COUSENS

‘We have now got a world wide refugee problem. We don’t have one here but we do have one world wide. It is now time to start having a rational debate about what we do with these people as opposed to playing the race card.’ Interview with Anna Burke, who has represented the seat of Chisholm in the House of Representatives for the ALP since 1998. Burke is the former Speaker of the House (2012-2013), and has been a consistent advocate for asylum seekers. She will retire at the next election. Read more

Migration Amendment (Urgent Medical Treatment) Bill 2018

This Bill, including Labor’s amendments, has now been passed by both Houses of Parliament: 13 February 2019.

‘…there is a lot of misinformation and, frankly, lies, that are being put around’  PMScott Morrison 13 February 2019. Sadly, true. He would know.

The passage of this Bill, instigated by Independent Kerryn Phelps, means that refugees and people seeking asylum currently detained on Nauru and Manus Island will be able to receive the medical care they need in a timely way.

In supporting the Bill, Labor has made amendments to ensure there will be no threat to the safety of Australian residents. There is also no reason to believe that people will risk drowning to get to Australia. We understand that to prevent such drownings the government will continue to intercept and turn back any smuggling boats leaving Indonesia. Any change to this policy would be an extraordinary step for the government.

Here is the message from Tanya Plibersek MP after the vote in the House of Representatives yesterday:

Tonight, Labor voted in the House of Representatives to help sick refugees and asylum seekers currently on Nauru and Manus Island receive urgent medical care.

We just passed a Bill that means the government must now listen to the advice of doctors about whether sick refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island should be evacuated to Australia for medical care. 

We can be tough on borders without being cruel to sick people who need medical care.

Labor was pleased to work with Kerryn Phelps, and other crossbench MPs, to deliver this result. 

It’s an example of what the Parliament can achieve when we work together.

• We strengthened the Immigration Minister’s discretion to keep Australians safe from serious criminals or security risks.
• Labor made timeframes for the medical transfer process more workable to ensure sick people will be able to get the medical care they need.
• These measures only apply to the people currently on Nauru and Manus Island – to remove any incentive, no matter how small, for people to risk their life at sea.

Labor will now work to pass this amended Bill through the Senate.

This Bill was only needed because Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton and the Liberals have left people to languish on Nauru and Manus Island for close to six years.

The next important step is to resettle those refugees and asylum seekers, who are still on Nauru and Manus Island, safely in third countries. 

Labor, if elected, will accept New Zealand’s generous offer to resettle refugees with appropriate conditions – and negotiate other third country resettlement options as a priority.

Our work in Labor for Refugees is far from finished, but this is a significant step forward.

ps Craig Foster says in his open letter that the Australian government should “commit to more humane policies for all the ‘Hakeems’ who come into Australia’s care. Our nation has a big heart, we saw just how big in the past few months, and we need to carry this compassion forward.”

He says “Australia needs to look at how we treat every human being that comes to these shores, irrespective of how they arrive. I have committed to many throughout this campaign, including the UN, that I would work to this end when Hakeem was free and I intend to do so.”