20 August 2025

Our next meeting will be our Annual General Meeting to be held on WEDNESDAY 27 AUGUST 2025 AT 6.30PM. : If you would like to attend the meeting, please join Labor for Refugees, or contact the Secretary.

 

Election of Office Bearers

If you wish to nominate for any of the positions on the NSW/ACT Executive, please send your Expression of Interest by email to the Returning Officer, Chris Haviland at chrishav2001@yahoo.com.auby 6pm on Monday 25 August 2025.

You can nominate for one of the following positions.

Co-Convenors (2)
Snr Vice President
Jnr Vice President (2)
Treasurer & Social Media
Secretary
Assistant Secretary & Webmaster
Returning Officer

The link to the minutes of our last meeting in 23 July 2025 is L4RMinutes23Jul25 

The link to the minutes of our previous AGM on 24 May 2023 isL4RNSWMinAGM24May23 

NSW LABOR CONFERENCE 2026

The 2026 NSW Labor Conference will be held on the weekend of the 4^th and 5^th July 2026 at the Sydney Town Hall.

For our Labor State Conference, L4R always submits a state-based refugee motion, in the hope that it will be included on the agenda when this Chapter is debated at Conference.  Normally, it means we ask our members to support a particular refugee motion that’s been drafted in consultation with our members.  The hope is that NSW Labor will then receive multiple identical motions submitted by branches/SECs and will therefore be motivated to have our motion included for debate at the conference.  We have also learnt from years of lobbying, that if we can convince the responsible Minister to support our motion,  it will have a much better chance of being adopted by Conference Delegates. 

ALP NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2026

The date for next year’s ALP triennial National Conference will be the 17th, 18th & 19th August.  It will take place in Adelaide. 

Once the National Policy Forum releases the draft National Platform for members to scrutinise and respond,  L4R nationally, will examine the Chapter that deals with refugees/people seeking asylum.  Our priorities are to ensure that any gains made at previous National Conferences, which were adopted in the Platform, have not been dropped off.  In addition, we will also set up a meeting with the Immigration Minister, to lobby for new refugee reforms.

To be honest, we’d be happy if the Labor Government implemented the promised reforms that we were successful in having included in the Platform at the last National Conference in 2023.  Having the government agree to these reforms is one thing, but omitting to include time-lines in which to implement them, means that the government can keep deferring their introduction.

Unfortunately, this has been our experience.

Please do not assume that because Labor is in government, that we can relax and all will be well for refugees/people seeking asylum.  It’s a positive thing that we are able to lobby Labor in government, which we were unable to do with the Coalition.  However, while we have an opportunity to meet with and lobby the Immigration Minister, there is no guarantee that we will receive a positive outcome.  As usual, the issue of refugees does not appear to be prominent in the minds of most politicians and is usually the elephant in the room and a contentious subject which is avoided by them if at all possible.

Which is where our L4R members/supporters come in.  We need you to keep supporting us and lobbying the Government when we run these campaigns so please watch this space as it gets closer to these important 2026 conferences.

L4R has been busy lobbying – issues that still need to be addressed

Since the end of last year, we have sent numerous letters on a raft of issues to the Immigration Minister, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Foreign Affairs, the Attorney-General and a number of NSW Ministers.

The issues follow with a link to each of our letters.

• SKILLS RECOGNITION FOR REFUGEES sent to Immigration Minister Tony Burke  Link:  Skillsrecognitionrefugees21Oct24The Skills issue took the form of a major campaign at the end of last year and the same letter was sent to Murray Watt as the Minister for Employment.  It was also sent to a number of NSW Ministers including Prue Car as the Minister for Education and Steve Whan as Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education.
  
  We received a lot of support for this campaign from our members who were successful in having their branch members endorse our motion.   It called on the federal government to remove barriers by adopting a fast track program of skills recognition of displaced people in our community. A no-brainer you would think.
   
• PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION sent to Immigration Minister Tony Burke. 
  Link:   PeopleDisabilitiesImmigDetention2Nov24
  and a second letter on the same issue, sent to Tony Burke in the following year.  Link: PeopleDisabilitiesImmigDetention11Mar25  PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION sent to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.  Link:  PeopleDisabilitiesImmigDetention16Jul25

• WORK RIGHTS denied to a cohort of refugees.  Sent to the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Foreign Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite, copied to a number of Federal Ministers, Assistant Ministers plus refugee organisations based in NSW and the ACT. Link:  WorkRights30Jun25

• PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY INTO IMMIGRATION DETENTION sent to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland Link:  ParliamentaryInquiryImmigDetention27Jun25

We sincerely hope that this year, in the early stage of the Labor Government’s three year term, we will have some break-throughs/wins on the important issues we have raised to date with Labor Ministers/Assistant Ministers. 

I look forward to seeing you on the screen next Wednesday 27th August for our Annual General Meeting.

Regards

Nizza Siano
Secretary L4R NSW
email:  contact@labor4refugees.com

16 July 2025

The Minutes of our previous meeting dated 28 May follow MinutesNSW-ACT25Jun25

Urgent meeting sought with the Immigration Minister

We wrote to Immigration Minister Tony Burke twice last year, in an effort to set up a meeting with him.  It’s important that we meet with the Minister to raise a number of urgent issues. 

We need to establish the timelines for when the government plans to implement the refugee policies that we fought for and won at the last Labor National Conference in 2023. 

We also ran a campaign last year, asking ALP branches to help us lobby the government to recognise the skills of refugees and remove some of the barriers that are preventing them from working in jobs where they are sorely needed.

One of the important gains L4R made at the conference in 2023, was the government’s agreement to hold an inquiry into Immigration detention.   We are still waiting to learn when this will happen.

There are many other problems that need to be addressed.  For example, in March this year, we wrote to the Minister about the need to address the plight of people with disabilities in Immigration Detention. 

In June we sent a letter to the Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite about the removal of Work Rights for those non-citizens who have (rightly) sought Ministerial Intervention. 

We are also very concerned about the refugees trapped in Indonesia who are trying to apply for visas to come to Australia. 

The Afghan refugees who escaped from the Taliban and fled to Iran are now in danger in Iran. Those who made it from Afghanistan to Pakistan are also facing danger because the Pakistani Government wants to deport them.

The list of priorities goes on.  Which is why we believe it is urgent to meet with Tony Burke and why, after the federal election, our L4R National Committee recently met to work out a plan of how we compile a list of issues that need to be raised with the Minister.

Watch this space.

Ride for Education – message from Muzafar 

Our ride is finished. 4,000kms, 46 events and thousands of friends both old and new!
 
Thanks everyone.

We have been touched deeply by the outpouring of love, community and connection we have felt over the last 5 weeks. Thousands of people came together to help us on our journey and we feel reconnected, energised and full of hope.
 
We have raised nearly $140,000. More than we have ever raised before! 
 
Our goal is $250,000 for one years education for over 3,000 refugees in Indonesia and Thailand, and women in Afghanistan.
 
YOU CAN HELP!!
 
Can you share this short video with any friends and family? https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1096438762
 
Or share the websites at rideforeducation.com and cisarualearning.com
 
Thank you all. Can’t wait to see you again soon. Thank you for sharing our campaign.
 
Sincerely
Muzafar & Jolyon & everyone at Cisarua Learning

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