The ASRC is in Parliament appealing to Senator Lambie to Save Medevac

25 November 2019 

The ASRC is in Parliament appealing to Senator Lambie to Save Medevac

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) has sent a delegation to Parliament, including CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis to appeal to Senators, especially Senator Lambie to vote against Minister Dutton’s full Migration Amendment (Repairing Medical Transfers) Bill 2019. 

The ASRC has witnessed first hand the medical crisis and medical neglect of people held offshore, through visiting in 2017 and with our ongoing detention advocacy work over the past six years.

SInce 2016, Australia’s human rights legal community in partnership with medical, refugee service and advocate communities have had to force the Coalition government to medically transfer critically sick children and their families and men and women to Australia to save their lives.

 The passing of the Medevac laws, with joint agreement from The Labor, Greens and crossbench in February 2019 meant an efficient and medically led process for the medevac of sick people.

The power of the Medevac laws lie in the balance struck between doctors working to address the medical need of offshore detention patients with preserving Ministerial veto of Medevac applications for specific reasons with evidence.

All without affording political interference in doctors work.

Medevac is working: The Minister has approved 86% of all doctors applications and no one has died in offshore processing from medical neglect since.

CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis said: “Thanks to the current Medevac process, the ASRC’s detention advocacy caseworkers and independent doctors work with the Department of Home Affairs to stop further loss of life due to medical neglect.” 

“We are here in Parliament to appeal to Senator Jacqui Lambie and all Senators to Save Medevac from repeal, with or without amendments.”

“Prime Minister Morrison just claimed in a national press conference that his government always honours Australia’s obligations to the Refugee Convention.”

“The ASRC calls on Senator Jacqui Lambie to make sure Prime Minister Scott Morrison keeps his word on the Refugee Convention and human right to medical treatment by saving the Medevac laws,” Kon Karapanagiotidis said.