\u201cThe Refugee Action Coalition welcomes the fact the government has finally faced facts with its announcement that the government will process asylum seekers in Australia. But rather than leaving them on the table, the amendments should have been completely withdrawn. The Malaysia Agreement has already been a distraction for too long,\u201d said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also disappointed that the government has not turned its attention to the shocking conditions in detention. Minister Bowen\u2019s announcement that it will consider bridging visas to manage future overcrowding in detention centres falls a long way short of what\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is nothing in the announcement that gives any relief to the thousands of people languishing in detention. The government talks about \u2018managing the detention system\u2019 but it is playing with people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cChris Bowen has admitted he has the power to release asylum seekers on bridging visas yet seems oblivious to crisis of self harm and attempted suicide that his detention system is causing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are 600 stateless people, 1,000 waiting for security clearances, and hundreds of Iranian asylum seekers that cannot be sent anywhere, that could be released immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe arbitrary and bureaucratic delays in refugee processing are inflicting increasing misery on asylum seekers languishing in detention. Innocent people are literally being driven crazy by the uncertainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cFederal Magistrate Court appeals are now being scheduled for February and March next year, condemning asylum seekers to many more months of detention. The fact that so many negative decisions are being overturned at every level of appeal shows that off-shore processing is fundamentally flawed.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike third country processing, offshore processing on Christmas Island and mandatory detention are relics of the anti-refugee policies of the Howard era. It is time those policies were killed off too,\u201d said Rintoul.<\/p>\n
There will be a pro-refugee rally will be held in Sydney on Saturday 15 October, starting at Town Hall. Speakers include: Speakers include: Sarah Hanson-Young (Greens Senator), John Menadue,(Founding Chair, Centre for Policy Development, former head of Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs), Linda Scott (NSW co-convenor Labor for Refugees), Angeline Loh (Malaysian refugee rights activist), Antony Loewenstein (independent journalist).<\/p>\n
For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe Refugee Action Coalition welcomes the fact the government has finally faced facts with its announcement that the government will process asylum seekers in Australia. But rather than leaving them on the table, the amendments should have been completely withdrawn. The Malaysia Agreement has already been a distraction for too long,\u201d said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311091,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-press-releases"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t