Taylah Eastwell
With Human Rights Day falling on Thursday 10 December, a group of protestors gathered outside Acting Minister for Immigration Alan Tudge’s office calling for better treatment of refugees.
Grandmothers for Refugees members held handmade signs and submitted letters to Mr Tudge calling on him to release the hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers currently in detention – including those in community detention, closed detention centres and alternate places of detention, such as hotels.
Group member Prue Licht, from Belgrave, said there are hundreds of people currently in detention who arrived after July 2013, when Kevin Rudd announced that no asylum seekers who arrive on our shores by boat would ever settle in Australia.
“A whole group were brought here when the Medevac legislation was in force which was rescinded, but during the period it actually existed a whole group were brought here and are now in Kangaroo Point in Brisbane or the Mantra here in Preston,” she said.
“They haven’t received medical treatment and some have been there for over a year.”
Ms Licht said the number of people still detained in hotels and detention centres is concerning given they have committed no crime.
“Their only crime is to come by boat after a particular date. People who came before that date are in the community so there is a huge issue with them being in detention and not being processed,” she said.
Grandmothers for Refugees Co-ordinator Virginia Schneiders said a recent poll showed a majority of LNP voters wanted an end to detention.
“But the government isn’t even taking any notice of them and this is the problem, they are just not held to account,” she said.
The group will continue to advocate at Knox each Wednesday and at Belgrave roundabout on Saturday mornings.
“The best outcome would be to release them into the community, support them while they look for jobs, teach them English, allow their children to go to school and university,” said Ms Licht.
