SCOTT MORRISON MP RETIRES DEFEATED AND SAD
[UPDATE: Even though he managed to pass the bill it was through bullying and blackmail. No one is going to stop fighting for refugee rights = human rights. Read how Morrison used children as bargaining chips]
Let’s make this happen. Morrison has been trying to pass draconian legislation to introduce Temporary Protection Visas and other measures to make the lives of refugees even harder ever since he got into his position.
But he keeps getting stopped and is going to be stopped again with your help.
Since it looks like we aren’t going to be able to gather in the streets or in front of Parliament House in Canberra to urge all crossbench Senators to reject the bill sending letters and making phone calls will have to do.
The government is getting
So I sent this please feel free to change to suit your situation.
Dear Senator,
I write to urge you to vote against the Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill 2014.
While I have always supported the right of anyone to seek asylum in this country regardless of the way they arrive here, I am now closely affected by this bill because my partner is an asylum seeker from Iran.
I know first hand the difficulties people face when they must leave their home countries for fear the government will kill them.
It is incumbent upon you to be educated on the life and death matters contained in this Bill.
This proposed legislation is more harsh, more cruel and more internationally illegal than any other piece of legislation proposed in Australian history.
It legislates against refugees human rights and it will cause people to die.
The deaths at sea, the deaths by torture if the people are sent back to their homeland from which they fled… and the suicides that result if this legislation is passed – these deaths will be on your conscience if you vote for this draconian piece of legislation.
Here is an lawyer speaking on what the Bill means.
I earnestly urge you to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eETzMYgEaM
Let us remember that those people who arrive here by boat, the ones we detain (ostensibly jail) commit to a island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, put into the community to live a life of destitution without work rights on Bridging Visas – for one and two and now, under the” no advantage policy” an undetermined amount of time, prevent from re uniting with their families in the future …these people just want to live, and not die… and to live a life that’s worth living.
They come from Iran, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Burma, Palestine and many other places.
There is no way for people like my partner to seek asylum other than come on a boat to Australia.
There are no queues in these countries.
Australia is a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention.
We invite these vulnerable people here by being a signatory. As though we are their friends. And then, as they knock at the door, we open it and then slam it shut in their face. Except it s not really like this. It is much much much worse. It’s literally a matter of life and death.
These are people, just like you and me. Not political footballs for point scoring.
We need to find a solution to this problem which is humane and just. Please don’t just vote against this bill but also actively use your position to influence policy so people on Bridging Visas and those in detention can be processed. And Australia formulates a way of assisting the worldwide issue of displaced people.
Here’s some information from Get Up on this Bill.
What are the key implications of this bill?
The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill 2014, is currently before Parliament. It is expected that it will be voted on in November. As well as the proposal to reintroduce TPVs, this bill contains a lot of very disturbing amendments to the Migration Act:
If passed, the bill will:
• Remove references to the UN Refugee Convention from the Migration Act and replace them with ‘Australia’s interpretation of international law
• Remove the ability of the High Court to challenge refugee policy and operations
• Exempt Customs/ Navy/ Border Force boats from maritime laws. This will allow actions such as removing safety devices, food, water and fuel from asylum-seeking boats.
• Allow the Government to send boats or individuals anywhere it chooses. The bill removes the need for Australia to have a Memorandum of Understanding in place with countries in the region, or for the country to be a signatory to the Refugee Convention. It also allows boats to be towed to a “place” that is not another country. It would allow boats to be towed beyond Australian waters and just left there without regard for safety.
• Establish a fast track assessment process which removes access to the Refugee Review Tribunal and provides very limited review processes. Fast turnaround processing was ruled illegal in the United Kingdom in July 2014 as it carried an “unacceptable risk of unfairness”.
• Classify children born in Australia, to asylum seekers who arrived by boat, as “transitory persons”, giving them no access to permanent residency or citizenship.
• Change the definition of ‘refugee’ to allow the government to deny a claim for refugee status if it decides that there is a ‘safe area’ in the country of origin, or that the nation’s police force is ‘reasonably effective’.
• Allow the Australian government to return / remove people regardless of non-refoulement obligations.
• Keep asylum seekers, currently living in Australia, in indefinite statelessness and uncertainty, unable to reunite with their families or move on with their lives.
We all need to write to our state Senators and to the cross bench Senators and tell them that if they vote for this bill, they will be voting for Australia’s domestic law to authorise human rights abuses. Ask the Libs to cross the floor, and ask the Nationals to think for themselves! Write to Clive and ask him what he was thinking when he helped Morrison craft this horrendous bill.
Use some of the points above, but use your own words. Include something personal about yourself. “As a parent of three children…” “As someone who is interested in history…” “As a twenty year-old with a long future of voting ahead of me….” Anything you can think of to give it a connection to a real voter.
Here are the addresses for the cross bench Senators and Clive Palmer. Paper letters in envelopes are best, but please email rather than doing nothing. Make sure you include your name and address.
Senator Bob Day AO (Family First)
Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices
100 King William Street
Adelaide SA 5000
senator.day@aph.gov.au
Senator Jacqui Lambie
29 Wilson Street
Burnie TAS 7320
senator.lambie@aph.gov.au
Senator Glenn Lazarus
PO Box 228
Brisbane QLD 4001
senator.lazarus@aph.gov.au
Senator David Leyonhjelm
PO Box 636
Drummoyne NSW 1470
senator.leyonhjelm@aph.gov.au
Senator John Madigan
17 Albert St
Ballarat Vic 3350
senator.madigan@aph.gov.au
Senator Ricky Muir
Level 4, Treasury Place
Melbourne VIC 3002
senator.muir@aph.gov.au
Senator Dio Wang
PO Box 6120
East Perth WA 6892
senator.wang@aph.gov.au
Senator Nick Xenophon
Level 2
31 Ebenezer Place
Adelaide SA 5000
senator.xenophon@aph.gov.au
Mr Clive Palmer MP
Palmer United Party
PO Box 1978
Sunshine Plaza, QLD, 4558
You’ll find the other Senators for your state here. You can search by state by using the map. Then click on their names for contact details.
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Senators