Protestors make their feelings clear about Australia’s recent decision to stop asylum seekers from resettling in Australia. (Photo by: Sham Majid)
Asylum seekers are being used as a political distraction according to their supporters.
The Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) organized a recent rally to denounce proposed plans which would see asylum seekers settled in Papua New Guinea (PNG) without having any chance of resettlement in Australia.
Protestors and activists from various unions including the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) swarmed the State Library before embarking on a rally march across the city to voice their opposition on both the Labor and Liberal parties’ immigration policies.
Watch the video of protestors marching along the State Library during the protest rally.
State Library asylum protest rally
A protest rally organized by the Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) to demonstrate against the Australian Government’s decision to resettle asylum seekers …
Click here for the protest rally picture gallery.
Listen to Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) activist Sue Bolton.
Sue Bolton, spokeswoman for the Refugee Action Collective (RCA) Victoria, says both the Rudd and Abbott governments are using asylum seekers as a means to distract Australians from more important issues.
“It’s simply a means of scapegoating a section of the community at a time when major parties are implementing economic policies that hurt people,” said Ms Bolton.
“They are manipulating and diverting peoples’ anger onto someone else and in this case, it is refugees and it is as cold hearted as that.”
Ms Bolton dismisses the notion by Mr Rudd and Mr Abbott that asylum seekers are a strain on Australia’s resources.
“We are complaining about tiny numbers of people crossing our border to seek asylum,” she said.
“The fear about the so-called numbers of asylum seekers entering Australia illegally is totally manufactured because there is no one concerned about the tens of thousands of economic migrants from other countries entering Australia.”
“The media and politicians really try to be high profile about every single boat of asylum seekers arriving into Australia to create the sense that we are being invaded.”
Ms Bolton says the rally was organized to highlight the depth of public opposition against the PNG solution which Prime Minister Mr Rudd agreed to in July with his counterpart, PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
“The objective of the protest was to try and get a large number of Australians around the country to come out onto the streets and to say that these policies are not supported by a large number of Australians,” said Ms Bolton.
“They are designed to try to mobilize public opinion against these policies and win more people to come out to condemn these policies.”
Ben Hillier, editor of Red Flag, a socialist newspaper, slammed the decision undertaken by Mr Rudd and Mr Abbott to completely prevent asylum seekers from ever resettling in Australia.
“It’s atrocious, people should be allowed into the country,” said Mr Hillier, who attended the rally.
“The arguments about economic strains on resources are rubbish because this entire country was founded on immigration.”
Llanon Davis, an activist for Red Flag, was equally scathing about Australia’s PNG solution.
“It’s absolutely appalling and racist,” said Mr Davis.
“This is clearly a racist attack on refugees and we are dumping refugees on poorer countries like PNG when we have got the space in Australia to resettle them here.”
“They are completely devising the notion of whipping up hysteria and making it seem as if refugees are the problem.”
Claire Fester, an activist with Solidarity, a socialist group in Australia, likened the PNG proposal as an election gimmick.
“I think it is the worst policy in Australia and it is a very cruel one,” said Ms Fester.
“Australia seems to be pushing away their human rights responsibilities and most people do not simply flee from their homeland and it takes a lot to make them flee such as a war.”
Callum Wilks, a student at Swinburne University of Technology, also echoed Ms Fester’s sentiments.
“It is a question of human rights and both political parties are failing to protect human rights for the goal of gaining votes,” said Mr Wilks.
“Australia is an incredibly wealthy country with an insignificant amount of refugees and we are spending billions of dollars to process refugees.”
“I feel it is a failed business proposal.”
