Greens push for asylum rethink

By Alice Blain

City Greens are calling on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to rethink the government’s stance on asylum seekers.

Greens candidate for Wentworth Matthew Robertson, marked Refugee Week with a call to the Prime Minister requesting a more humanitarian approach towards asylum seekers.

Mr Robertson says it was a disappointment that Ms Gillard had not yet taken a new approach to the issue.

“Despite her claim to resist fearmongering on this issue, the Prime Minister has fallen far short of taking a fresh approach to this issue.”

“It needs to be an issue around which we have a positive humanitarian approach,” he says.

A more humanitarian approach would see a reverse in the government’s suspension on processing asylum claims from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

It would also see the abolition of the government detention centres and the introduction a refugee application process that complies with Australia’s international law obligations says Mr Robertson.

“The Greens believe a person should be able to live in the community until their claim for asylum has been assessed and either approved or rejected.”

“We could take the money and resources we currently expend on the operation of detention centres and we could take that money and put it into settlement services for these people,” he says.

Sydney Greens candidate Tony Hickey supports Mr Robertson’s call to the Prime Minister.

“I agree that it is extremely disappointing that we have a new Prime Minister that hasn’t showed the compassion we would have liked on this issue.”

Mr Hickey says the Australian public’s inherent fear of asylum seekers will only disappear when the government stops fearmongering and treating this issue as a political issue.

“If the politicians can set an example and show compassion to these people and demonstrate that refugees are people who have made a contribution to Australian society in the past and will do so in the future then people will pretty quickly come around to that way of thinking,” he said.

Mr Robertson says the government and public will only change their views on the issue with strong political leadership, which so far has not been shown by Julia Gillard.

“We need strong political leadership…we need people to stand up and say ‘you know what, these people might be from a far away land and they might dress differently and speak differently but they want for their families just as what we want for our families,’” he said.

“When there is strong political leadership the Australian people will more easily open their minds and hearts to these people.”

The City Greens hope Ms Gillard will consider their call when she announces the government’s stance on asylum seekers this week.