Today marks eight years of Australian Government policy. A policy that determines that any person seeking safety who arrives by boat shall be transferred to indefinite offshore detention.
In these eight years, the Australian Government has created a deliberate system of abuse for thousands of adults and children. 13 people have lost their lives as a result of the offshore detention regime. Today, over 200 refugees and people seeking asylum remain trapped offshore. Over 100 are in detention in Australia, with more than 1000 living in the community on some form of temporary visa, with no certainty regarding their futures.
And all this when there are solutions on offer. Since 2013, New Zealand has offered to resettle 150 refugees per year from Australia’s offshore detention regime. There is no way to right the wrongs of the past, but the Government has the power to pave the way for a bright future.
Write your letter to Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews and we’ll hand deliver it when we meet her in August!
Here’s how it works:
- You compose your short message and provide your details
- We compile all of the messages and print them, with only your first name
- We hand deliver them to Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews when we meet her in August
- The Government knows that this is an issue that is important to Australians, and they need to act with urgency and accept the New Zealand resettlement offer