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Migration & Micah Actions

Migration Changes

In response to the overwhelmingly negative public reaction to the Government’s proposed changes to the Migration Act, and the refusal of a number of Government backbenchers to support the legislation, it has not been brought on for debate, and will not be put before Parliament until at least August. The Prime Minister has indicated that several amendments will be incorporated, but there are still major problems with the legislation.

Thank you to everyone who has signed petitions, written letters and emails to Senators and MPs, visited their MP or even sent in a submission to the Senate Inquiry - your voice has played a significant part in helping the backbenchers stand firm in the face of strong internal party pressure.

It also needs to be recognized that most of the serious flaws in this legislation already affect asylum-seekers under current legislation - those who are intercepted at sea or arrive at one of Australia’s excised offshore places. Even if the current legislation does not go forward, we need to keep working for changes to the existing situation.

A new action guide - with resources to email, write to or visit MPs and Senators on this issue - is available at www.tear.org.au/advocacy/refugees/westpapua.php. Please take action to ensure that this legislation is not passed.

MP Letter Writing Guide

Please use the attached Micah Challenge Letter Writing Guide to write to your MP about the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Although we have a budget surplus of over $10 billion and the White Paper on Aid identifies ways to focus more on health and education, Australia is still giving only 0.3% of our Gross National Income in aid - putting us 19th out of 22 rich aid-giving countries. The head of the UN Millennium Project, Salil Shetty, on a recent visit to Australia, described Australia’s aid performance as “punching below our weight.”

The letter writing guide is also available at the TEAR website.

Ben