This is from Labor For Refugees..... Labor for Refugees Letter to Richard Marles and ALP pollies 18 February 2014 The Hon Richard Marles MP Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [email protected] Dear Shadow Minister Labor for Refugees calls for the immediate closure of Manus Island as an offshore immigration detention centre. Recent events and the events overnight of Monday 17th February into Tuesday 18th February 2014, demonstrate that the centre is a dangerous place to detain asylum seekers. The untimely death and injury of asylum seekers apparently at the hands of PNG locals who do not want the Detention Centre there, demonstrates clearly that Labor’s actions in re-opening the detention centre in PNG in the face of significant local opposition was unwise and poorly thought through. Labor for Refugees extends our deepest sympathies to the families of asylum seekers and staff members on Manus Island who were either killed or injured in the events overnight. Now is the time for the ALP Parliamentary Caucus to abandon its commitment to offshore processing. It is clearly not working. Forcing people offshore to live in sub-standard and often dangerous centres is not the answer. The justification that offshore detention centres prevents drownings at sea is false. Any reduction in drownings, which has yet to be proved, has been achieved by the unlawful actions of the current government and ithe military forces doing its bidding. If we allowed asylum seekers to gain entry to Australia in a co-ordinated and orderly way, they would NOT need to risk their lives on perilous boat journeys and offshore processing centres would not need to exist. It is not too late now for the Labor Parliamentary Caucus to turn away from its current commitment to offshore processing and oppose the government in its unlawful campaign. If Labor did this, there would be a significant change in the political and community debate around asylum seekers. Labor needs to challenge the Abbott Government’s secrecy and cover up. Labor needs to commit itself to its own values of fairness for all, including those who are most vulnerable namely asylum seekers fleeing from terror, war, torture and persecution. Labor needs to abide by its own Party Platform which emphatically endorses onshore processing. Labor for Refugees calls on you as Shadow Minister for Immigration and all members of the ALP Parliamentary Caucus to immediately recommit to onshore processing of refugees and to call on the Government to close Manus Island and Nauru Detention Centres now. There must be fair processing for all asylum seekers, onshore, now. Labor for Refugees seeks an early response to this letter. Yours sincerely Shane Prince and Robin Rothfield National Convenors.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 10:12:33 +0000
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