25 May 2005
AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM
The announcement by Liberal Member of parliament Petro Georgiou that he will be moving two private members bills to address Australia’s inhumane mandatory detention policy next week is a significant development. That he has gained the public support of several of his colleagues is also significant.
The proposed bills provide for
- those who have been in detention for more than a year to be released while their claims for protection are resolved;
- the release of children and their parents from detention, unless they pose a risk to the public or are likely to abscond;
- permanent protection for Temporary Protection Visa holders;
- asylum seekers who arrive without a visa to only be detained initially for up to 90 days, which can only be extended by application to the Federal Court; and those whose claim for asylum has failed but who cannot removed from Australia (after 3 years) to be granted permanent protection.
The proposal comes at a time when an increasing number of Australians are expressing concerns about the current policy in the light of recent publicity about the plight of long term detainees especially children, the wrongful detaining and deportation of Australian citizens and the extraordinary instances of Departmental incompetence and mismanagement that have been revealed in recent weeks.
The referral of more than two hundred cases of wrongful detention to tthe Palmer enquiry, the release from detention of 3 yr old Naomi Leong and the pledge to review the cases of the East Timorese originally scheduled to be deported next month, indicate a government on the defensive over its treatment of asylum seekers.
The next few days provides a rare opportunity for ordinary members of the public to directly influence government policy. It is known that many government members share an increasing unease about aspects of the current policy and could therefore be open to be influenced by a groundswell of public opinion. Contact details to write, telephone or email your parliamentary representatives asking them to support the private members bill can be found at the Parliament of Australia website.
The proposed bills provide for
- those who have been in detention for more than a year to be released while their claims for protection are resolved;
- the release of children and their parents from detention, unless they pose a risk to the public or are likely to abscond;
- permanent protection for Temporary Protection Visa holders;
- asylum seekers who arrive without a visa to only be detained initially for up to 90 days, which can only be extended by application to the Federal Court; and those whose claim for asylum has failed but who cannot removed from Australia (after 3 years) to be granted permanent protection.
The proposal comes at a time when an increasing number of Australians are expressing concerns about the current policy in the light of recent publicity about the plight of long term detainees especially children, the wrongful detaining and deportation of Australian citizens and the extraordinary instances of Departmental incompetence and mismanagement that have been revealed in recent weeks.
The referral of more than two hundred cases of wrongful detention to tthe Palmer enquiry, the release from detention of 3 yr old Naomi Leong and the pledge to review the cases of the East Timorese originally scheduled to be deported next month, indicate a government on the defensive over its treatment of asylum seekers.
The next few days provides a rare opportunity for ordinary members of the public to directly influence government policy. It is known that many government members share an increasing unease about aspects of the current policy and could therefore be open to be influenced by a groundswell of public opinion. Contact details to write, telephone or email your parliamentary representatives asking them to support the private members bill can be found at the Parliament of Australia website.
Comments:
Post a Comment
