Australia to send refugees to Papua New Guinea

[Camy]

Australia is sending all refugees, who arrive by boat, to Papua New Guinea – where gay people can be sent to jail for 14 years.

We have a chance to stop this right now. The Prime Minister just announced the election. A global outcry could force the issue front and centre for every party, and make this issue a decider for who is fit to lead the country.

Australia is one of the few countries in the region that openly accepts lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It has always been a safe haven for refugees fleeing extreme persecution. Sign the petition to make Australia a safe haven again!

Sign the petition: https://www.allout.org/en/actions/australian-home

Worryingly, I'm beginning to suffer petition apathy. There are almost too many causes worthy of support....

[DesDownunder]

Camy, I haven't seen and can't find any reference to our PM announcing the election date.

Many of us Earthlings in Australia are concerned with the, yet again, lurch to the Right by our once Left wing Labor party.

The cost of living is sky-rocketing as policies by both our major political parties become more draconian.

It's almost as if our politicians haven't yet understood that G. W. Bush is no longer President, as they appear to continue to mimic conservative policies.

As for the petitions, it is necessary to read and understand what each one is aiming to achieve and then come to a conclusion as to whether we can, as individuals, support them or not.

In the interests of sanity, some of the petitions just have to be set aside as we are indeed being overwhelmed.

The movie, The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer with its message of public manipulation by politicians is somewhat relevant.

[colinian]

That preview is hilarious. I can think of a LOT of U.S. politicians who could fill that role—in real life!

Colin

[DesDownunder]

Kevin Rudd has just announced the Aussie election will be on September 7th

[Graeme]

On the original post, neither major political party has a humanitarian policy regarding asylum seekers. However, the issue is complicated because at the moment there are significant numbers of asylum seekers who are risking their lives by using people smugglers to send them to Australia on unsafe boats (the boats are confiscated when they arrive, so the people smugglers are using boats that are close to derelict). Part of the issue is how to stop these people from risking their lives. From that perspective, the new policy is a disincentive for people to use people smugglers, because it's not going to get the people to Australia.

Gay's can apply for asylum in Australia and can settle in Australia, but under the new policy they can't do so if they get here via the people smugglers. The problem is that the off shore processing to allow people to request asylum in Australia is very slow.... years slow. That's why the people smugglers have a business - they're shortcutting the "approved" process and giving people a chance to come here earlier. Also, because Australia has an annual quota for refugee intake, everyone coming in via the people smugglers subtracts from the number who can some in via the "approved" process (this is a relatively new change introduced by the last Liberal government - previously there were different quotas for those going through channels and those that arrived unexpectedly).

The obvious solution would be speed up the off shore processing so people can get of the list in a timely manner, but that costs money. I haven't seen figures on how much it would cost. Unfortunately, there's been a rush to the bottom by the two political parties and too many people are being conditioned to think asylum seekers are not wanted, even though the numbers concerned are not significant (and are miniscule compared to illegal arrivals by air - those that arrive and overstay their visas).

[Guest Dabeagle]

I signed the petition because sending them to a country where they would be so mistreated (probably why they are fleeing in the first place) isn't the right answer. If it helps put pressure to figure something better out, I'll be happy.