International delegates to a Marxism conference were probably refused entry
to Australia because they could not prove they would not stay on,
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said today.
Mr Ruddock has accused the conference organisers of attention grabbing for
airing the matter in the media.
The delegates, from the Philippines and Bangladesh, were to have attended
the Marxism 2000 conference at the University of Western Sydney,
Hawkesbury, from January 5-9.
While he has yet to receive information on exactly why the three delegates
were banned, Mr Ruddock said it was possible they may not have been
co-operative.
'What I find normally happens in these matters, and I've asked for this
issue to be looked at, is people decline to provide sufficient information
for us to be able to make a considered assessment,' he told reporters.
'The fact that you are a bona fide organisation, organising a conference
doesn't mean that you will necessarily extend an invitation to people who
are always going to intend a bona fide visit.'
Australian Democratic Socialist Party national secretary John Percy has
said he believed the delegates were the victims of racial and political
discrimination.
Mr Percy said other delegates, including those from Canada and the US, had
no problems in obtaining a visa.
Mr Ruddock said the rules did not discriminate against poorer people but
acknowledged that people from certain countries were considered to provide
more of a risk than others.
'If you are seeking to come to Australia for a conference then it is
important to demonstrate to our officials that that is your principal
purpose and you don't have another objective in mind,' he said.
Mr Ruddock said the government had a policy to ensure any conference
organisers could liaise with the department of foreign affairs about
requirements and he was disappointed at the way the matter was raised in
the media.
'I find it disappointing that the issues are beaten up in a way which is
designed to bring more attention to the organisation involved than deal
with the principal issue.'
Mr Ruddock said the government already had problems with a major conference
for the deaf held here last year.
'We found that numbers of people attending the conference of the deaf have
remained in Australia at the conclusion of the conference even though their
visas had expired.'
--
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
