Tell the ALP to block the bill!
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's has proposed a bill to ban every person seeking asylum who the government has imprisoned on Manus Island or Nauru from ever coming to Australia.
It's a cruel and cynical political move, and it's being introduced to Parliament next week.
Can you send an email to your Labor MP or senator, urging them to vote against the government's cruel new policy?
It's a cruel and cynical political move, and it's being introduced to Parliament next week.
Can you send an email to your Labor MP or senator, urging them to vote against the government's cruel new policy?
What should my email say?
Politicians receive a lot of emails – the ones that cut through are personal, polite, and in your own words.
What you say is up to you, but you should aim to hit a few key points:
What you say is up to you, but you should aim to hit a few key points:
- This bill is a cruel political move, intended to distract from the fact that the Coalition has no plan to resolve the current policy and humanitarian crisis of the camps on Manus Island and Nauru.
- If passed, this bill will harm people (see examples below of real people who this bill would affect to include in your email).
- As we saw during the #LetThemStay movement, public opinion has shifted in Australia – a majority now want a decent and humane resolution to this impasse.
- This bill is an opportunity for Labor to draw a line in the sand, and push for an actual resolution that will allow people to rebuild their lives in safety.
- Explicitly ask your MP or senator to block the bill.
People who the bill will harm
You may want to use these examples of people the bill will hurt in your email. Personalising a deliberately dehumanising policy is a key way to ensure people will listen.Nayser is a father separated from his wife and children in Australia, and imprisoned by our government on Manus Island.
He and his family fled Burma together seeking a safe future for their children, but were separated. His wife and children arrived in Australia a week before the rules changed, and were allowed to stay and start rebuilding their lives in safety.
Nayser followed soon after, desperate to be reunited with his family. But when he arrived, he was told to pack his things. At the boarding gate they told him he was headed to Manus Island. That was three years ago.
Some 3,560 kilometres away, Nayser now relies on a patchy Skype connection to peer into his children's lives, watching and listening as they tell him about school, friends and the grandchildren he's never met.
Nayser's family is one of dozens who will be effected by Peter Dutton's cruel and dangerous bill.
If it passes, Nayser will never be able to see his family in Australia. He will never see his daughter graduate high school, or see his son learn to swim.
He and his family fled Burma together seeking a safe future for their children, but were separated. His wife and children arrived in Australia a week before the rules changed, and were allowed to stay and start rebuilding their lives in safety.
Nayser followed soon after, desperate to be reunited with his family. But when he arrived, he was told to pack his things. At the boarding gate they told him he was headed to Manus Island. That was three years ago.
Some 3,560 kilometres away, Nayser now relies on a patchy Skype connection to peer into his children's lives, watching and listening as they tell him about school, friends and the grandchildren he's never met.
Nayser's family is one of dozens who will be effected by Peter Dutton's cruel and dangerous bill.
If it passes, Nayser will never be able to see his family in Australia. He will never see his daughter graduate high school, or see his son learn to swim.
Earlier this year, 37 babies and their families were under threat of being deported back to a life of limbo in Nauru.
But the Australian community rallied – with hundreds of thousands of people calling on the government to #LetThemStay.
Now, these children and their parents are rebuilding their lives in Australia. Finally in safety.
Many of these babies have taken their first steps and spoken their first words in Australia. Their parents have been embraced by the community – joining mothers' groups and local soccer teams.
But Peter Dutton's cruel and unnecessary bill has the power to take all that away.
It's a bill that would ban every person seeking asylum who the government has imprisoned on Manus Island or Nauru from settling in Australia.
If it passes, these children and their families could face being ripped out of their community and forced indefinite back to Nauru.
But the Australian community rallied – with hundreds of thousands of people calling on the government to #LetThemStay.
Now, these children and their parents are rebuilding their lives in Australia. Finally in safety.
Many of these babies have taken their first steps and spoken their first words in Australia. Their parents have been embraced by the community – joining mothers' groups and local soccer teams.
But Peter Dutton's cruel and unnecessary bill has the power to take all that away.
It's a bill that would ban every person seeking asylum who the government has imprisoned on Manus Island or Nauru from settling in Australia.
If it passes, these children and their families could face being ripped out of their community and forced indefinite back to Nauru.