100 days of refugee-led protests: Open letter urges Government to resolve Fast Track failures
MEDIA RELEASE:
Seventy-five prominent refugee, legal, human rights and faith-based organisations have united in an open letter to the Federal Government, demanding an urgent pathway to permanency for approximately 8,400 people failed by the now defunct Fast Track system.
The letter, addressed to PM Anthony Albanese and Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke, coincides with 100 days of refugee-led national protests. It urges Labor to “rise above the politics of fear and division” and provide a clear and swift resolution for people living in limbo before the next Federal Election. Read the full open letter.
Groups signed on to the letter include Amnesty International Australia, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Liberty Victoria, Democracy in Colour, Catholics for Refugees, Teachers for Refugees, Doctors 4 Refugees, Rural Australians for Refugees, Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) and many more from across Australia. The signees’ plea for permanency is in solidarity with the refugee-led movement of hundreds of men, women and children who’ve held 24-7 encampments in all major cities across Australia over the past 100 days.
Despite being subject to racist and violent attacks in recent weeks, protest leaders will continue the pressure until Labor finally allows people, including families, the chance to build their futures here with safety and certainty. Stories from the nationwide encampments have highlighted the cruelty of living in limbo, always afraid of being uprooted from their families and returned to harm, and often living without access to Medicare and work and study rights.
Protestors have also spoken publicly about the devastating impacts of being separated from family for over a decade, and seeing their children grow up in Australia without the same rights to study and work as their peers.
The Australian Labor Party has long recognised the Fast Track process was deeply flawed and unfair and abolished the system earlier this year. However, for the 8,400 people who’ve so far been overlooked by Labor’s reforms, it’s time for a resolution that ensures all people failed by Fast Track receive fair, humane and just outcomes.
Quotes attributable to:
Rathy Barthlote, Organiser of Melbourne protests who fled Sri Lanka in 2013
“We started this 24/7 action because we feel desperate – we cannot live without certainty any longer. We have lost too many of our friends, family, and community. We feel their loss every day.
“The past 100 days have been hard, very hard, but we feel stronger every day as the Australian community stands with us. We will keep going until all the children, men and women affected by Fast Track can fully call Australia home, with permanent visas.”
ASRC’s Deputy CEO Jana Favero
“Over a decade ago, people arrived on our shores seeking asylum. Instead of offering safety, we subjected them to a flawed system that has failed people – causing uncertainty, limbo, harm and family separation.
“So fundamentally flawed was Fast Track that the Labor Party voted against it and have now scrapped it. The cruelty must end and what’s needed urgently is for the failures of that system to be rectified by offering people permanent visas so they can finally rebuild their lives. It’s what refugees are demanding, it’s what the public are demanding, it’s what 75 organisations across the faith, legal, refugee and peak bodies are demanding.”
Zaki Haidari, Amnesty International Australia’s Refugee Rights Strategic Campaigner
“Today, we’ve joined human rights, legal, and advocacy groups to demand an end to the suffering of over 8,400 people seeking asylum in Australia. The Fast Track process was abolished because it was unfair and a failure.
“Now, it’s time for the Government to take the next step toward justice and fairness, ending the suffering and uncertainty faced by these asylum seekers. Not long ago, I was in their shoes. For over 10 years, I too, faced uncertainty about my future. Every day was a struggle. The Government must provide a pathway to permanency for asylum seekers and allow them to reunite with their families.”
Frances Rush, Asylum Seekers Centre’s CEO
“The Australian Government’s lack of action over people failed by the so-called ‘Fast Track’ system has moved from concerning to intentionally cruel and callous. This Government has had more than two years to fix something they admit is broken.
“They have watched protests from their electorate offices. Yet they continue to turn a blind eye while promising fairness and justice. After more than a decade, it’s time for fairness and permanency for people failed by the Fast Track system. It is time to finally give these people the chance to rebuild their lives and confirm what we all know – that Australia is their home.”
Sarah Dale, Refugee Advice & Casework Service, Centre Director & Principal Solicitor
“This Government accepts that this system was broken. It has taken significant strides to eradicate some of the faults of Fast Track, these systemic changes are welcome. But it is not enough to only address the failings of the system, we have to ensure that the very people it failed also find redress.”
“We are talking about parents and children, our neighbours and colleagues that are still left in impenetrable limbo for over a decade. This suffering has to end, and could end tomorrow with leadership ensuring a pathway to permanency.”
Paul Power, CEO, Refugee Council of Australia
“People affected by this policy have demonstrated over the past 11 or more years that they have contributed constructively to the nation. The Government has previously used practical alternatives for people in similar circumstances, now is the time to use these reasonable alternatives and to allow people to move on from this shameful time in our collective history.”
Rev Sandy Boyce, Executive Officer, Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce
“The Government has acknowledged the precarious position of refugees caught in limbo and uncertainty by the failed Fast Track process. Their plight has gone on far too long. The Government has the authority to do what is right and fair and create pathways for permanency. Now is the time to act.”
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