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Newsletter
AJA at the 2020 summitAJA’s National Coordinator, Kate Gauthier, was invited to the 2020 summit as a participant in the Governance stream rather than the social inclusion stream. The Governance stream discussed issues such as the republic, indigenous representation in parliament, indigenous recognition in the constitution and electoral reform. Issues that were relevant to AJA’s work included a bill or charter of rights, and increased community participation in government decision-making. Read this Campaign Update. Continuing efforts to reform policyRecently we''ve seen some very positive changes - the end of the Pacific Solution - and some agreements for more change by ending TPVs and granting workrights for some asylum seekers in the community. But so far these are only tentative agreements and there is so much more that needs to be done to achieve better policy and fairness for refugees. Read this Campaign Update. 20 Feb 2008 - Nauru closes - but more work to doEarlier this month it was formally announced that the Nauru and Manus Island (PNG) detention centres were to be finally closed. They will not be mothballed for potential future use. All asylum seekers who were on Nauru, recently had their cases finalised and have been moved to Australia.Read this Campaign Update. 23 Nov 2007 - Election EveFinally, the election is tomorrow, so don't forget to vote with your values! And to help you do that our party policy analysis can help you decide where to cast your vote. Read this Campaign Update. 25 Oct 2007 - Election UpdateAJA election guides and update on refugees on Nauru. Read this Campaign Update. 8 Oct 2007 - Talking points on Sudanese refugees in AustraliaThe Immigration Minister, Kevin Andrews, recently claimed Sudanese have a ‘failure to integrate into the Australian community.’ This statement was released after a young Sudanese man was involved in a fatal assault. However this man was the victim, not the perpetrator.Read this Campaign Update. 03 Oct 2007 - Sri Lankan refugees on NauruWhile the Government is gearing up for an election, it appears that they are using the same old 'strong border protection' strategy by punishing refugees. As such, Australia has recently refused to take resettlement responsibility for 72 Sri Lankans detained on Nauru who have been proven to be refugees. Read this Campaign Update. 14 Sept 2007 - Pacific Solution report releasedAJA has been very busy in the past few months: - Completed a report with Oxfam Australia on the Pacific Solution and Offshore processing (see below) - Distributed this report to all federal MPs and Senators - Prepared a Policy Summary and Issues brief. This was printed as a 16 page magazine and distributed to all MPs and Senators. This is also being distributed through the AJA supporter networks and key NGOs - Prepared an election survey and “Values Guarantee”. This is being distributed to all sitting and non-sitting candidates in the upcoming federal election - Successfully lobbied at the ALP national Conference to abolish TPVs and the 45 day rule which denies many asylum seekers the right to work Read this Campaign Update. 08 August 2007 - Campaign rollout for 2007We are very proud to rollout our campaign to raise awareness on refugee and asylum seeker policies in the 2007 election with our Clean Up our (migration) Act! campaign.
The Clean Up campaign identifies the 10 steps that need to be immediately taken to bring asylum seeker policy in line with the human rights standards which Australia has developed and endorsed. Please read our campaign page to get information about the campaign, download the lobby kit and get involved locally to achieve change nationally. Read this Campaign Update. 29 June 2007 - general updateAJA is in the process of finalising our “Clean up Our Act” campaign to raise public awareness on these issues in the lead up to the 2007 election. This campaign highlights the ten most important policy areas which AJA, along with many NGOs, refugee support groups and legal advocates, aspires to change.Read this Campaign Update. 30 April 2007 - ALP policy changeThis weekend the Australian Labor Party held their National Policy Conference. Along with other organisations, A Just Australia lobbied hard on ending Temporary Protection Visas and granting work rights to asylum seekers on Bridging Visas.Read this Campaign Update. 23 April 2007 - ALP Policy ConferencePlease help to lobby the ALP to remove Temporary Protection Visas and to give asylum seekers on Bridging Visas the right to work.Read this Campaign Update. 5 March 2007 - Nauru updateSri Lankan asylum seekers have been sent to Nauru, with no proper legal assistance to help on their cases.Read this Campaign Update. 5 March 2007 Govt brings back Nauru policyAs you are probably aware, there are 83 Sri Lankan asylum seekers currently being held on Christmas Island, awaiting a decision from the Australian Government about their fate. We need your support to lobby for their immediate transfer to the mainland, or at minimum to remain on Christmas Island and processed under Australian law, with resettlement in Australia if they are found to be refugees.Read this Campaign Update. 16 Feb 2007 Start of 2007 campaignAs you may be aware, we now have a new Immigration Minister, the Hon. Kevin Andrews, for the newly renamed Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). Multiculturalism has been dropped from the name which is usually seen as an indication of the importance of these issues in cabinet. Read this Campaign Update. 31 Oct 2006 Labor policy change and a chance to dump offshore processingThings seem to be moving in a bit more of a positive direction with the news last week that the ALP is looking to change key planks of its refugee policy. Read this Campaign Update. 18 Sept 2006 Congratulations on helping sink the DUA bill!We
did it! With your help we were able to
defeat the federal government's proposal to see all boat-arriving
asylum-seekers ferreted offshore to be processed in Read this Campaign Update. 4 Jul 2006 Offshore bill in troubleThe commitment of thousands of people like you has made a significant contribution to our campaign against the proposed changes to our asylum-seeker laws. Despite intense pressure from the Howard Government to pass the proposal for offshore processing of all boat-arriving asylum-seekers in the previous parliamentary session it has now been delayed until August.Read this Campaign Update. 16 May 2006 Update on offshore processing billAs you will have heard, the new Bill for offshore processing - Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill 2006 - has been introduced both into the House and the Senate. You can find information about the bill here. This includes the text of the bill as well as the (not particularly) explanatory memorandum.Read this Campaign Update. 27 Apr 2006 - Offshore detention for all boat arrivalsThe Australian Government recently announced that it would be making changes to refugee policy to allow for all asylum seekers arriving by boat to be processed in offshore locations and resettlement to be sought in ‘third’ countries.Read this Campaign Update. 17 Mar 2006 Migration Act Inquiry and other updatesMarch newsleter contains an anlaysis of the Migration Act Inquiry, the ANAO report on detention contracts, and some information on the values debate in our community.Read this Campaign Update. 13 Feb 2006 - Bridging Visa campaignOur campaign for 2006 is underway, and there have been a lot of refugee-related events. There is some important information in this newsletter about the issue of work rights for Bridging Visa holders. We encourage all supporters to take the suggested actions, and pass this information on to other people who may support this campaign which was researched and developed by agencies expert in the issue of welfare and asylum seekers. Read this Campaign Update. 20 Dec 2005 final for 2005Final newsletter for 2005 - change of chair for A Just Australia board, wrapup of 2005 changes and some good research brochures from Edmund Rice Centre.Read this Campaign Update. 04 Nov 2005 General updateUpdates on Nauru, excisions, Refugee week, People's Inquiry. etc. Read this Campaign Update. 05 Oct 2005 Continue your support for NauruPlease keep writing to your friends on Nauru. The waiting is difficult and they need to know that people in Australia have not forgotten them. It does mean a lot to them to receive a fax or to see many messages waiting for them when they go to check their emails. I know it is difficult to keep finding words to write, but even a sentence or two saying that you are still thinking of them and that you care will really help. If you haven't written to someone this week, please consider writing a message now.
Read this Campaign Update. 12 Sept 2005 Help asylum seekers on LombokThere are about 92 asylum seekers trapped on Lombok, Indonesia. Most of them, including families with children, were towed back from Ashmore Reef by our navy in 2001 after they came here and asked for asylum. They stay in Lombok in spite of the poor conditions in the camp as they fear that their return home will put their lives in danger.Read this Campaign Update. 06 Sept 2005 General UpdateOver the past 12 months there have been significant changes to refugee and asylum seeker policy – more than we could have expected. Families have been released from detention, with detention for children now legislated as “a last resort.” TPV holders are being assessed for permanent residency and new bridging visas have been granted to some people who were facing indefinite (or lifetime) detention.Read this Campaign Update. 26 Aug 2005 Nauru UpdateAs at Friday 26th August - Tampa Day 4 years on - there are still 32 asylum seekers left on Nauru. Each time another group is accepted and leaves the island, those left behind have to face the reality of their uncertian future. The four years on Nauru have taken their toll on their mental and emotional health. These men have suffered far too much already. Read Jen Harrisons update available as a PDF.Read this Campaign Update. 21 July 2005 Palmer ReportOnce again there has been a lot of movement in immigration and detention related issues in past weeks. The recent Auditor General’s report into the management of detention centre contracts (part B) and the Palmer Inquiry report both outline the difficulties of outsourcing detention management to private companies.Read this Campaign Update. 23 June 2005 Migration Amendment Bill InfoThere has been a lot of movement in the past week on refugee issues. The changes are certainly not enough yet, but they are the best step in the right direction we have seen for some time. Congratulations go to Petro Georgiou, Judy Moylan, Bruce Baird and Russell Broadbent (and their staffers who have no doubt, also worked very hard on this issue.) Their work has not finished as they will be working very closely with the interdepartmental team who will be implementing the changes.Read this Campaign Update. 30 May 2005 What is a private members bill?A lot of people are wondering what is the process for Petro Georgiou’s Private Member’s Bill? Will it get to a vote? When will it be debated? Could it result in legislative change? For supporters of A JUST AUSTRALIA and their networks I have attempted to give a description of this complicated process. Read this Campaign Update. 27 May 2005 Proposed Bills to reform mandatory detentionTwo Private Member’s Bills have been proposed by Petro Georgiou, Liberal MP from Victoria. A Just Australia congratulates Petro Georgiou and other Liberal politicians for taking this important step towards just and humane refugee policy reform.Read this Campaign Update. 03 May 2005 General updateThe media and public response to Petro Georgiou’s Private Members Bills calling for an end to the non-reviewable detention of asylum seekers has been overwhelmingly positive.Read this Campaign Update. 29 Apr 2005 East Timorese Asylum seekers rejectedAfter more than a decade of waiting for the Government to grant them permission to stay under humanitarian grounds, this week 21 East Timorese asylum seekers were personally handed a letter from the Minister for Immigration, Senator Amanda Vanstone, saying they were not welcome. Read this Campaign Update. 15 Apr 2005 AJA new National Coordinator15 April 2005 As you will be aware, the campaign for A JUST AUSTRALIA is resuming after a review of the outcomes of our work to date. We believe there are still many positive changes to be won towards just refugee policies, as community concern continues to grow, especially for solutions for the long-term detained asylum seekers. I share your passion and commitment to significant, humane reform to Australia’s asylum and refugee system. I seek your continued generous support- moral, political and financial – in a refocused, collaborative campaign to achieve our goals. Specifics on how you can immediately help are provided below. Read this Campaign Update. 15 Apr 2005 Campaign ContinuesThe campaign for A Just The Board of Australians for Just Refugee Programs Inc. is pleased to announce that, at its Read this Campaign Update. 24 Dec 2004 from Ian Anderson and Howard GlennA Christmas Newsletter for you from A Just Australia. In this bulletin: …Over two hundred long term detainees …“Refuge Australia” wins national award …Reconsidering a role for A Just Australia …A Just Australia separate to Rights Australia …Future Contact details Read this Campaign Update. 30 Sept 2004 Let's vote for a country we can be proud of again!At the end of next week, Australians go to the polls to vote for candidates in the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is a blessed relief that, at least so far in the campaign, there has not been the fear and demonisation of asylum seekers and refugees. Read this Campaign Update. 12 June 2004 Letter from Ian ChappellJune 2004 Make this election different to the last in two ways. Read this Campaign Update. 20 May 2004 New Book: Refuge AustraliaRefuge Australia debunks several commonly held assumptions about Australia’s humanitarian record. It demonstrates that Australian responses to various international refugee crises from the 1930s to the early 1970s were informed by self-interest rather than humanitarian concerns. It shows that Australia’s support for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the 1951 Refugees Convention was often at best half-hearted. This book is a timely intervention in the debate about refugees and asylum seekers in post-Tampa Australia. Read this Campaign Update. |
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A Just Australia Inc |
