Public statement Reject Australia's racist laws on refugees In 1997 Australia became infamous around the world because of the rapid rise of the overtly racist Pauline Hanson's One Nation party. Following a wave of anti-racist protests, One Nation went into decline but Hansonism is far from dead in Australia... We, the undersigned, strongly oppose the new laws and regulations recently introduced by the Howard Liberal-National government. They are racist and an affront to basic human solidarity, and it is utterly despicable of the Labor opposition to support such measures. In particular we condemn: 1. Regulations recently made by Minister of Immigration Philip Ruddock that will only offer approved refugees who have entered Australia without visas three year temporary visas, instead of permanent residence. This racist proposal was first advocated by Pauline Hanson's One Nation party. 2. The Border Protection Bill which toughens the already inhumane rules on the treatment of "boat people", removes refugee decisions from rule of law, criminalises refugees and gives the government the powers to evade its international responsibilities to refugees under international conventions by intercepting suspected "boat people" in international waters. We also demand the end of mandatory detention of "boat people" introduced by the former Labor federal government in 1992. This law, which has been condemned by the Uniting Church as racist, has kept hundreds of families seeking asylum locked up in remote detention camps, sometimes for several years while their applications for asylum are being processed. These detained asylum seekers are overwhelmingly from countries in the Third World and have fled severe political persecution, war and economic crisis. There is no mandatory detention of other "illegal migrants", most of whom come from Britain, the USA and other wealthy countries. We urge all anti-racists to fight this latest wave of racism. Signatories: Lisa Macdonald, Editor, Green Left Weekly; Max Lane, Asia Pacific Institute for Democracy and Development; Wendy Robertson, National Coordinator, Resistance; John Percy, National Secretary, Democratic Socialist Party; Pip Hinman, National Secretary, Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor; Dr Tim Anderson, lecturer, University of Sydney; Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown; Sam Watson, Aboriginal activist, writer & film maker; Klaas Woldring, National Secretary Progressive Labour Party; Debbie Brennan, for Radical Women; Alison Thorne, for Freedom Socialist Party; Peter Hicks, musician; Geoff Francis, songwriter; Brendan O'Kane, PLP Sydney Branch Secretary; Jamie Parker, The Greens NSW Convenor & Leichhardt Council Councillor; Lee Rhiannon, Member of NSW Legislative Council; Leon Parissi; Joan Silk; Colin Long, Secretary, People's Committee for Melbourne; Yvonne Francis, Nuclear Disarmament Party; Peter Boyle; Iggy Kim; Victorian Deaths in Custody Watch Committee; Cameron Parker; Lucy de Petro; Jodie Goodman; Dr Dorothy Bruck, Psychology Dept, Victoria University; John Tully; Doug Lorimer; Bimal Man Shrestha; Bellana Shrestha; Zanny Begg; Marilyn Capper, Administrator, School of Drama, Victorian College of the Arts; Lauren Bain, Program Manager, Corporate & Public Programs, The Asialink Centre; Tracey Claire, School of Drama, Victorian College of the Arts; Dr. Denise Varney, School of Studies in Creative Arts, Victorian College of the Arts; Trish Hayes; Dr Kevin Brophy, Co-Ordinator Creative Writing Program, School of Studies in Creative Arts, Victorian College of the Arts; Shiffi Blustein; Toby Ovadia; Don Walters; Pamela Curr; Bree K. Taylor; Kate Emery; Paul Hayes; Mary-Jo O'Rourke; Claire O'Connor; Laurie Forde; Desley Forde; Brendan O'Reilly; Felicity Lang; Joan Pollock, Lecturer Victorian College of the Arts; Shelley Marshall; Jacqui Basheer; Kath Gelber; Vannessa Hearman; Robert Fabian; Adam Milewski; Noeline Nabulivou-McCormack; Joshua Young; Gavro Lakic; James Robert Dixon; David O'Connell; Mary Lou Pavlovic; Therese Doyle, Green's councillor, Concord Council; Roger Markwick, Senior Research Associate, Department of Government University of Sydney; Rizan Nadir, Committee in Defence of Iraqi Women; Fahris Mahmood, Worker Communist Party of Iraq; Pia van de Zandt; Jennifer Kent; Jane Higgins; Kim Bullimore, Aboriginal activist; Phil Shannon, delegate, CPSU, Dept. of Health and Aged Care; Peter Perkins, Rail Tram & Bus Union; Allen Jennings, UNDP, Vietnam; Barry Healy; Annolies Truman; Sigrid Borke, Bayside branch, Progressive Labour Party; Bill Ireland, Bayside branch, Progressive Labour Party; Leah Beesley; Rizan Nazdir, Committee in Defence of Iraqi Women; Fahris Mahmood, Worker Communist Party of Iraq; Peter McGregor, lecturer, University of Western Australia; Susan Locke, Chairperson, Friends of NLD Australia; Meital Katz; Tanya Howard, Executive Editorial Officer, Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs; Michelle Burrell, Kingsford Legal Centre; Adele Murdolo, Working Women's Health; Donald Anderson, Scottish Republican Socialist Movement; Tracy Sorensen; Alya Nusbaum; Mark Koronczyk; Colm Connor; Bob Berghout, vice-president, National Tertiary Education Industry Union (Newcastle Branch); Karen Fletcher, solicitor/coordinator, Prisoners Legal Service Brisbane; Dr Marg Perrott; Roy Bishop, for Local Community Services Association; John Tomlinson, academic Queensland University of Technology. Positions for identification purposes only unless otherwise stated. To add your name send a message to: Peter Boyle Democratic Socialist Party National Office PO Box 515 Broadway NSW 2007 Australia Tel: 61 (0)2 9690 1230 Fax: 61 (0)2 9690 1381 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.dsp.org.au/ds/campaigns/refugee99_petition.html -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
