A small but vocal group of local protesters have voiced their concerns at the federal government’s decision not to bring asylum seekers to Australia from Manus Island for processing.
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Late last month Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court ruled Australia’s detention of asylum seekers on Manus illegal.
About 30 protesters from the Great Lakes branch of Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) attended the demonstration marching with their protest banners held high and chanting as they crossed the bridge from Tuncurry to Forster.
Spokesperson, Kathleen Smith says it is the federal government’s responsibility to bring them to Australia and to process their requests quickly and efficiently.
Mrs Smith says it costs the government about $400,000 a year to keep one asylum seeker in offshore detention.
Manus Island accommodates up to 850 men seeking to resettle in Australia.
However, the cost to keep an asylum seeker in Australia with a bridging visa is about $45,000, she said.
“They should be brought here and properly assessed.
“We have all those detention centres here, and they are closing them down.”
Mrs Smith urged all Australians to consider how these people are treated.
She said many asylum seekers were lonely and distressed.
“It is not illegal to seek asylum, it is not illegal to seek refuge.
“But it is illegal for some of those holidaymakers to overstay their visas.”
She said an estimated 48,000 people illegally overstayed their visa.
For many years Mrs Smith has hosted and supported refugees on bridging visas, introducing them to Australian culture, customs and general way of life.
Originally a naval base for the Royal Australian Navy, Manus Island has had a chequered past, and has opened and closed many times since it became a regional processing centre in 2001.
For 10 months in 2002-03 a Kuwaiti –born Palestinian was the sole detainee at the centre, with a small staff of guards and cleaners for company.
RAR was formed in 2001 on the back of the Tampa crisis.
In August of that year the Norwegian freighter rescued more than 400 Afghan asylum seekers, but was then refused entry into Australian waters.
The Great Lakes group was formed the following year by a local residents concerned with the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees by successive Australian governments.
In the 14 years since its formation the group has continued to lobby politicians and assist advocates to improve the treatment of refugees.
