MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
MPs from major parties to receive Christmas Island detention centre petition

The petition will be received on the 14th of June by the Member for Fremantle, Dr Carmen Lawrence, Greens Senator Kerry Nettle and Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett.

A press conference will be held in Senate Committee Room 1S2 on the 14th of June at 11am.

The petition was organised by RAC, in association with A Just Australia, the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, and the National Council of Churches.

People from varied age groups and backgrounds from all over Australia have called for a halt on construction of the Christmas Island facility and an end to mandatory, indefinite detention of refugees and asylum seekers. Australians are particularly concerned that plans for the new facility appear to cater for the detention of children, despite government promises to the contrary.

The enthusiastic response to the petition proves that humane treatment of refugees remains a crucial issue for Australians of all political hues, particularly in an election year. Australians want refugee processing done fairly and humanely within Australia, without mandatory detention, not outsourced to remote island communities where it cannot be properly monitored.

RAC spokesperson Karen Jones said: "This petition shows Australians will not tolerate imprisoning refugees and asylum seekers. We are especially concerned that this new remote centre, which includes 24 hour high-tech surveillance, is beyond the reach of the reach of the media, the law and concerned Australians."

The petition coincides with a rally to be held on World Refugee Day June 17 in Melbourne, where RAC's demands for humane treatment of refugees and an end to offshore processing will be repeated. The rally will begin outside Melbourne Museum at 12pm and will hear from keynote speakers including Greens Senator Kerry Nettle and Refugee & Immigration Legal Centre Co-ordinator David Manne reporting on his recent visit to Tamil asylum seekers on Nauru.

enquiries can be directed to Karen Jones 0448 672 567

The Hon Dr Carmen Lawrence
Member for Fremantle

June 14, 2007

Dear Madam,

Thank you for receiving this petition, signed by 10,332 Australians alarmed at the plans, leaked in
November 2006, for the new immigration detention centre currently being built on Christmas Island.
The petition was jointly drafted by A Just Australia, Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, The National
Council of Churches in Australia and The Refugee Action Collective.

The 10,332 signatories call on all Members of the House and Senators to:

(a) affirm the commitment of the Australian Government to:
(i) transparency and accountability in governance; and to
(ii) the rule of law; and the recognition of human rights and the inviolable right of every
individual to be treated with dignity and respect;
(b) demand an immediate halt to the construction of the Christmas Island Immigration Detention
Centre;
(c) demand accurate information from the present Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and
the Department, and from the Prime Minister, and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,
about why construction has begun on this Detention Centre, and who can or will be interned there;
(d) demand an immediate end to the mandatory extra-judicial detention of refugees and asylum
seekers;
(e) re-affirm the House's commitment to ensuring that Australia's immigration system will not
permit the detention of children.
In February correspondence to the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) the Minister, the
Hon Kevin Andrews, promised that families with children will only be detained in the Christmas Island
centre as a last resort. We welcome this promise, but note with concern that the leaked plans that
included purpose built facilities for children were being approved at the same time as the Government
was making the commitment that children be detained as a last resort. We believe that the deliberate and
misguided policy of using such a remote location, with only limited community support capacity, risks
families and children being kept in detention if a large influx of asylum seekers does arrive. The
detentin centre’s large bed capacity apparently anticipates large arrivals.

So, we urge the abandonment of the Christmas Island Detention Centre. Instead, asylum seeker
boat arrivals should be brought to mainland Australia where better community and professional
support can be provided while their claims are assessed. We seek an immediate end to the
mandatory, indefinite and judicially non-reviewable detention of asylum seekers and encourage
increasing moves to seek community-based models. Such changes will better guarantee the
Australian Government’s stated commitment to upholding our international obligations to people
seeking Australia’s protection.

Yours faithfully,

A Just Australia
The Asylum Seekers Resource Centre
The National Council of Churches in Australia
The Refugee Action Collective, Vic, on behalf of 10,332 concerned Australian residents.