The Yass Rural Australians for Refugees (YRAR) joined other refugee-advocacy members at the recent RAR National Conference to discuss actions in relation to helping asylum seekers.
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A key presentation at the event on April 6 in Wodonga, Victoria, was by Professor Gillian Triggs, who called for an Australian Bill of Rights.
“Unlike almost every other comparable country, Australia has no bill of rights against which government policies, legislation and actions can be benchmarked,” Professor Triggs told the 300 attendees.
She gave examples of how the human rights of people seeking asylum have suffered because courts have not had such a legal tool to use.
“Papua New Guinea has a modern constitution, including a guarantee of human rights, including the right to not be unlawfully deprived of ones liberty.
“This enabled the PNG High Court to rule that it was unconstitutional to detain refugees on Manus Island” added Ms Triggs.
The reality is heartbreaking but there are great stories within our communities, especially from rural Australia.
- Yass Rural Australians for Refugees
A YRAR spokesperson said it was “wonderful to hear from and meet lawyers, former refugees, researchers and others working with refugees and asylum seekers in Australia”.
“The reality is heartbreaking but there are great stories within our communities, especially from rural Australia.
“There were many lessons from other small towns and not so small towns, at the conference,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said rural communities were known for being welcoming and generous.
“Some have opened their homes for short-term stays for refugees living in cities and many have welcomed families for permanent resettlement, with great results.
“There are misconceptions and misleading information on social media and more broadly, about refugees and Australia’s policy, including offshore detention.”
“Real life stories are the best way to get to the truth and I certainly learnt a lot over the 2 days in Wodonga – I reflected on how lucky we are to live in Yass as I drove through the beautiful countryside from Albury\Wodonga to home. Boundless plains to share,” the YRAR spokesperson said.
RAR Conference attendees also heard from local federal member Cathy McGowan, MHR, who applauded the work of many of the RAR-affiliated groups around Australia in supporting asylum seekers.
The conference continued on April 7–8, with other guests: Julian Burnside, AO QC, Sr Jan Barnett of the Sisters of St Joseph; Professor Stuart Hill of the University of Western Sydney; Madeline Gleeson of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at the University of NSW; and, a range of keynote speakers and workshop leaders.
