Ballarat Rural Australians for Refugees | Charitable organisation

Ballarat Rural Australians for Refugees

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24.01.2022 An incredible 154,340 people have already signed one of the petitions* calling on Parliament to reject Peter Dutton's dangerous mobile phone ban bill! We can't ...thank you all enough. Please share if you were one of them, to help get the word out. Tell your friends and family why this is so important. If you haven't signed already: https://action.asrc.org.au/phones-are-a-lifeline * The ASRC, National Justice Project and GetUp are proud to be working together with parallel petitions to defeat this dangerous bill.

22.01.2022 Good to see Bahrouz Boochani amongst the subjects of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. thttps://www.theage.com.au/culture/art-and-design/2020-archibald-prize-finalists-20200917-h1qs8t.html

20.01.2022 As an innocent person how would you like to be treated like a criminal? The torture never ends. #TimeForAHome #gameover

20.01.2022 Next on #AustralianStory: Behind the scenes of the audacious mission to free Behrouz Boochani from detention for a life of freedom in NZ Watch The Great Escape https://ab.co/332e96m

19.01.2022 When you signed our petition your act temporarily stopped the bill to take phones off refugees in detention. Now your vote and voice asking Senator Jacqui Lambi...e to say no could defeat it for good. Please go to her website and cast your vote, lives depend on it: senatorlambie.com.au/advise_jacqui George Newhouse National Justice Project See more

19.01.2022 Ads Up Canada and USA Refugee Networks have sent a letter to the Australian Prime Minister to note the significant impact their proposed refugee mobile phone ba...n would have on our work to resettle refugees in Canada. Add your name to our phone ban petition here >> http://bit.ly/PhonePetition

18.01.2022 URGENT: The Government is about to try and ban mobile phones in immigration detention centres. This is a blatant violation of human rights, and will lead to isolation of those detained from their families and outside support. Take action now: https://bit.ly/3bc1JN5

17.01.2022 "Nature Nurturing Art - Rosalind Lawson" is a great video filmed by local refugee Neil Para and RAR member, Merle Hathaway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tUr7gUamz8&feature=youtu.be

16.01.2022 UPDATE: We understand that the amendment to the Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities Bill 2020), will be voted on today (W...ed 2 Sept) by the House of Representatives, and if passed there (almost certain to pass) it is listed to be voted by the Senate tomorrow or Friday. It has been delayed due to lot of advocacy work in the last week. UPDATE: Senator Rex Patrick has said publicly he will now oppose the bill! So now it's down to Lambie. After wider discussions, we're asking individuals from outside of the independent senators' states NOT to call her office. This can be counter productive as it can overwhelm and annoy already very busy independents' offices. However, for those in Tasmania, you can contact Senator Jacqui Lambie, probably best by email as my understanding is many are lined up to call from inside Tasmania - [email protected]. For asylum seekers in detention, mobile phones are a lifeline. They enable access to families, loved ones, legal representation, health support and the outside world and make it possible for people to shine a light on what's really going on inside immigration detention centres. The government hasn’t made a reasonable case for this grab-bag of powers, when police can already investigate and act around any allegations of illegality. URGENT ACTIONS: Signing and sharing relevant petitions (see below) and sharing positive stories and videos of the importance of refugees in detention are two important actions. As mentioned above, please don't call Senator Lambie's office if you don't live in Tasmania. Some important points reasons this bill needs to be rejected: Police already have powers to remove illegal substances and items Immigration detention centres are not prisons and detainees should not be treated as prisoners Refugees and people seeking asylum are in administrative detention because the government has not resolved their visa status. These people do not pose a security or criminal risk. The intention to remove mobile phones must be seen as an attempt to silence those held in detention, and to prevent public scrutiny and access to advocates and other support people. Mobile phones can enable detainees to hold staff accountable for their actions and place some constraint on excessive use of force detention staff. Most refugees and asylum seekers have been held in detention for very long periods, and their mobile phones are their lifeline and link to the outside world, including maintaining contact with family members here and overseas, and legal and other support contacts. Being able to maintain some connection to the world outside is essential maintaining mental health NOTES 1. Here’s a link to a petition opposing the bill on change.org, which also gives more info: https://www.change.org/p/dial-it-down-dutton-do/u/27241249 2. Here's a link to the ASRC Petition: https://action.asrc.org.au/phones-are-a-lifeline 3. Here’s a link to the Australian Parliament website page for the Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities Bill 2020), which includes a link to the Committee Report There is also a dissenting report within the document from Labor and Greens members of the committee. https://www.aph.gov.au//Legal_and_C/ProhibitedItems/Report

15.01.2022 This Saturday come along for a picnic to meet up with refugees and people seeking asylum living in Ballarat area, and also members of Ballarat rural Australians for refugees.

14.01.2022 https://humanrights.gov.au//statement-christmas-island-imm #SafeResettlementNow

14.01.2022 It’s time to bring this family home to safety, dignity and community. Time to bring them #HomeToBilo for Christmas.

13.01.2022 https://www.ombudsman.gov.au//Immigration-Detention-Oversi #SafeResettlementNow

11.01.2022 Peter Dutton likes to say he cares about families, but his actions speak louder. Ask Anne Ruston, Minister for Social Services, to step in and provide support ...for families that have been given 3 weeks notice to vacate their housing and find employment. https://www.change.org/p/protectrefugeekids-from-dutton-s-b See more

11.01.2022 BREAKING: Ten people detained in the hotel-turned-prison at the Meriton Suites Adelaide Street, Brisbane have been released into the community this morning. To...night they will sleep without a guard outside their room for the first time in nearly eight years. These ten people were brought here several weeks ago from Nauru, where our government still indefinitely detains over a hundred people. But hundreds more people are still locked in concentration camps across the continent and offshore. So yes, give yourself a moment to feel joy. Maybe even sneak a bit of hope. But we must also grieve for what we did to these people. Grieve for the years they've lost. Grieve for what others are still losingand what some have lost forever. Grieve. Get angry. Then act.

09.01.2022 Tomorrow the Senate is due to debate the Prohibited Items Bill, which will make life even harder for people in immigration detention. This Bill gives staff at d...etention centres more power than police in dealing with the public and would mean phones could be confiscated from detainees. It is an unconscionable and irredeemable Bill and must be rejected by the Senate. If you have a moment, please call Jacqui Lambie and Rex Patrick and ask them to vote against this legislation.

08.01.2022 Important. Senator Jacqui Lambie will have deciding vote in Senate on whether phones are taken away from refugees in detention. To her credit she’s shared both... sides of debate and asked for your vote to help inform her decision. Please vote, especially if in #Tasmania right here senatorlambie.com.au/advise_jacqui See more

05.01.2022 Canada's planned Refugee intake announced: 2021 = 59,500 2022 = 60,500 2023 = 61,000... Plus Humanitarian - plus families - wow - well done, Canada https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-levels-plans.

05.01.2022 Crowding is certainly an issue within the detention system, and urgent action is needed to reduce the threat of a COVID-19 outbreak. Reopening the Christmas Is...land detention facility, however, is not the solution. Safer, more humane and more fiscally responsible alternatives exist, writes Dr Michelle Peterie. https://overland.org.au//the-true-cost-of-reopening-the-c/ #SafeSettlementNow

04.01.2022 Mr Morrison, there is no excuse for failing to recognise the legitimate claims of Afghan refugees! In the wake of this latest terrorist attack in their country, I call upon our government to immediately grant permanent protection visas to all refugees who have fled Afghanistan.

04.01.2022 Human Rights Watch has released its annual report, and Australia has not fared well, with harsh lockdown measures, the mistreatment of refugees, and a failure to address longstanding abuses against First Nations people all harming its global standing. The Australia chapter of the World Report 2021 points out many issues with the nation’s heavy-handed response to Covid-19, often singling out Victoria, including its discriminatory approach in suddenly locking down 3000 people in public housing towers.