PRESS RELEASE
25 April 2001
Refugee Action Collective condemns Minister Ruddock's scapegoating of refugees
The Refugee Action Collective in Victoria condemns the government's plans
to slash the "off-shore" program for refugees coming to Australia.
Whereas previous governments kept the "off-shore" and "on-shore" programs
separate, Philip Ruddock's administration plans to reduce the number of
refugees who apply to enter Australia from overseas locations, because of
the increase in refugees who arrive in Australia and then claim refugee
status. However, Australia is only taking about 12,000 refugees per year, a
small number compared with other countries. There are now approximately 23
million refugees in the world today.
RAC spokesperson, Judy McVey, said: "All people seeking asylum need our
help, and the vast majority of refugees who have come here by boat without
the necessary papers, have proven their refugee status after application."
In fact, 90 per cent of Iraqis and Afghans who have arrived in the past
three or four years have been successful in their application for refugee
status under Australian law.
Judy said: "They are NOT 'illegals', as Mr Ruddock would have us believe.
They are NOT 'queue jumpers'-there is no queue. This is a deliberate
attempt to scapegoat the refugees languishing in Australia's detention
centres. The decision to cut the 'off-shore' program is arbitrary, to
create an illusion of a queue."
REFUGEE SPEAKS OUT:
A refugee, who has been through the process and was a detainee in Woomera
detention centre, will be speaking at a public meeting in Brunswick
tomorrow night, Thursday 26 April.
Public Meeting details: "Our World is Not for Sale": 7.30pm Thursday 26 April
Brunswick Town Hall, cnr Dawson St and Sydney Rd, Brunswick.
Mohammed was in Woomera at the time of the break-out last year, and spent
two days in the Woomera township. He previously had spent ten years
attempting to find some country to find asylum before coming to Australia.
While he has won refugee status here, it is only for a short period of 30
months-he is on a Temporary Protection Visa (TPV).
Refugee Action Collective is campaigning to end mandatory detention of
refugees and end the horrific hell-holes, as well as win full permanent
visa rights for all refugees, and abolish the TPVs.
CONTACT REFUGEE ACTION COLLECTIVE - phone Judy McVey 0418 347 374
For details of the public meeting, contact Kristalo Hrysicos on 9386 9096,
or 9384 0225.
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