PUBLIC STATEMENT
March 19, 2014
At their recent Executive Committee meeting, members of the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes in NSW [CLRI(NSW)] expressed dismay at the policies of both major parties that have condemned asylum seekers, attempting to reach Australia by boat, to indefinite detention at Manus Island and Nauru.
President of CLRI(NSW) Sr Laureen Dixon rsc said: “Many of our members have lived and worked in detention centres in Papua New Guinea and other places and know that the health, safety and welfare of asylum seekers are at grave risk in all offshore detention centres. The recent tragedy at the Manus Island detention centre in which one man died and many more suffered serious injuries has borne out that knowledge”.
It has been said so many times, by those who respect our international obligations under the UN Convention on Asylum Seekers and Refugees, that it is not illegal to seek asylum regardless of the manner of arrival. We question why politicians continue to claim, publicly, that they are illegal and hence can be treated as criminals.
“Our opposition to these policies” Sr Laureen said “stems from our shared commitment in faith to the command of Jesus to love God and to love our neighbour, expressed in the care and compassion we show for those in need. As well we are guided by the principles set out in Catholic Social Teaching especially those relating to human dignity and care for those who have suffered misfortune”.
The Australian Government and the, now, Opposition are responsible for what happened on Manus Island. Australia created the camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. We created this risk with our desire to ‘deter’ both boat people and people smugglers. As a result we have created racial tension in Papua New Guinea and very probably contributed to the collapse of the rule of law in Nauru. We have driven already desperate people to lose hope in ever finding a decent, safe haven. When people lose all hope, despair and mental illness are the result.
“There is immense damage being done to our international reputation and to Australia’s moral compass by the repugnant policies of both major parties,” Sr Laureen said. “We refuse to be complicit in the implementation of these policies by our silence. CLRI(NSW) joins with other groups and individuals to continue our opposition to these policies until such time as a just, compassionate and humane approach to the issue of asylum-seekers and refugees prevails”.
Sister Laureen Dixon rsc
President
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