Contributed to this site by Robin Rothfield, former National Convenor, Labor for Refugees

I came across a more recent episode of filoxenia on Zakynthos. In the first week of November 2001, a Turkish-flagged boat, the Brenier, carrying 714 Iraqi Kurds and Afghan refugees, broke down in the lonian Sea. Abandoned by its crew, the ship was rescued by the Greek coast guard.

The Brenier was towed to Zakynthos Town. As the crowded boat moved towards the port, the townsfolk lined the waterfront and cheered. The local baker was waiting with 700 sandwiches. Others residents brought food, clothes and blankets. Pregnant women and babies were ferried to hospital, or housed in hotels.

Observers were stunned by this outpouring of empathy. It convinced wary Greek officials to treat the new arrivals humanely. A number of families who arrived on the Brenier have since been provided a home on the island.

When I heard of this incident I recalled my night journeys on the Ionian Sea. My lasting impression of Zakynthos is of a glow of lights approaching in the dark. I think of our treatment of strangers, here in Australia, in recent years. At the time the Brenier was being towed into Zakynthos, off the north-west coast of Australia, asylum seekers were being turned back out to sea.

Ride for Education – update

Muzafar Ali returned to our L4R meeting last month as our guest speaker, to update us on his marathon bike ride.

Muzafar is the Co-CEO of the Cisarua Learning Centre in Indonesia and will be fundraising for both the Centre as well as for women in Afghanistan.  To find out more about why it’s so important to support the education of women in Afghanistan, please read the details in Muzafar’s presentation which appears in our March minutes. 
Muzafar and his team will start their ride on 31 May, departing from Maleny Qld to Brisbane and then on to Adelaide. The NSW part of their journey will commence from Murwillumbah on the 1 June and they will be in NSW until the 18 June.  

After Murwillumbah they will ride down the coast to Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Bellingen, Port Macquarie, Dungog, Newcastle and on 13 June, will arrive in Sydney. The team will then go to the Blue Mts, Bowral, Canberra and on to Batemans Bay and Bega.   They plan to stay for 1 night in each town and are inviting anyone to join them for a coffee, dinner or chat. The aim is to raise funds for the education of refugees and women in Afghanistan. They would also love people to  join them in their ride and to organize any event around their fundraiser.  Anyone can register an event/fundraiser.  Muzafar’s team of 5 people will bring their own tents and sleeping bags. They only need access to a shower and a bathroom.  So if anyone is able to meet up with this group at any of the towns listed, or can provide them with support, it would be wonderful.

If you’d like to know more about how to get involved,please see Ride-For-EducationFundraisingpage
A list of the places and dates for each town where they will stop, follows Ride4EducationDates-Towns

Basic route information follows https://rideforeducation.com/route 

We wish Muzafar and the team, every success in their worthwhile endeavour to raise awareness of the need to support both the women in Afghanistan and the excellent work being carried out by the Cisarua Learning Centre in Indonesia.

In October 2024, the Administrative Review Tribunal replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, with various new objectives, features, processes and powers. In December 2024 the Administrative Review Council was re-established with an objective of monitoring and advising on the operation and integrity of Australia’s administrative law system. These developments reflect a significant (re) commitment to the values and principles which underpinned the administrative law reforms of the 1970s.
In this seminar Professor Margaret Allars SC, Chair of the Administrative Review Council and Simone Burford, Deputy President and Jurisdictional Lead – Protection of the ART will explore the first six months of the new Tribunal’s operation, and the prospects for the revived ARC.
This online seminar (via Zoom) is hosted by the UNSW Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law and the Australian Institute of Administrative Law (NSW).

Copies to be sent to Tony Burke, Ged Kearney and Josh Burns,

Anthony Albanese

Prime Minister

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

3 December 2024

Dear Anthony

I first joined the Labor Party in 1956 just after Labor’s split but the bills passed in Parliament last week represent for me the most disappointing moment in Labor history.

In August 1945, Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell approved a scheme for Holocaust survivors to be sponsored to Australia

Under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution;

You would no doubt be aware that Labor’s Dr Evatt played a significant role in the formation of the United Nations (UN) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and was influential in the creation of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

I refer you also to  Michelle Bachelet who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022.

Michelle Bachelet, said that the newly concluded global compact on migration could help countries co-operate on migration and would protect the rights of some of the world’s most vulnerable. She said, ‘Australia, has suggested it might withdraw from the Compact, should join the consensus of the global community, adopt the compact and revise the country’s policies with respect to people arriving at its borders without a visa.’ Her fiercest criticism was reserved for Australia’s offshore immigration regime, on the remote islands of  Nauru and Manus in Papua New Guinea. ‘The current offshore processing centres are an affront to the protection of human rights’, Bachelet said.

Sincerely

Robin Rothfield

Former National Convenor,

Labor for Refugees.

FOR LABOR FOR REFUGEES MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS.

FRINGE EVENT ONLINE. Fringe Events were not held at the NSW ALP Conference in 2024. The Labor for Refugees Fringe Event is now being held online on 27th November 2024 at 6.30pm

Please join us for our online L4R Fringe Event “ASYLUM MATTERS”

Speakers include :

· Dr Graham Thom, international refugee specialist

· Frances Rush OAM, Asylum Seekers Centre CEO

· Thouraya Lahmadi, refugee and writer

We have never witnessed a global displacement crisis or a local poverty crisis for people seeking asylum like those we face today.

In this session, international refugee specialist Dr. Graham Thom, Asylum Seekers Centre CEO Frances Rush OAM, and refugee and writer Thouraya Lahmadi will unpack the trends, insights, and experiences that must shape refugee policy in Australia.

From exploring the High Court’s ruling on immigration detention to highlighting the stark reality for a person seeking safety without a safety net, this session will highlight what we must do in order to provide protection for those who need it.

There will be time for questions at the end.

If you wish to receive the Zoom link for this event please email Nizza Siano

The Zoom link will be sent to you prior to the event.

We welcome existing and new members as well as anyone who is interested in
hearing what we can do to address the crisis which we face today, of global
displacement and a local poverty crisis for people seeking asylum.

Nizza Siano
National Secretary,

Labor for Refugees.

Email: contact@labor4refugees.com

Website: www.labor4refugees.com

https://mailchi.mp/343d5ff606d2/at-last-labors-policies-for-conference-released?e=fab6b2efeb

A consultation draft of Labor’s National Platform is being released in the lead up to the 48th ALP National Conference, which will be held in Adelaide on 16, 17 and 18 December 2018.

The consultation draft is the work of Labor’s National Policy Forum, which over the past 12 months has engaged more than 3,000 Party members in the Platform Development process through workshops, policy submissions and surveys.

The consultation draft is available for download here.    https://www.alp.org.au/national_platform