Palm Sunday 2023 Melbourne rally. Photo: Matt Hrkac

CRAG Newsletter April 2023

Welcome to the latest edition of the Combined Refugee Action Group (CRAG) Newsletter.

CRAG has put together a letter-writing toolkit to assist people to lobby the government to take some positive action for the 12,000 people in the “legacy caseload” whose cases were rejected by the flawed and unfair Fast Track refugee assessment system.

The toolkit includes:

  • Dot points which the outline the inadequacies of the Fast Track system
  • Some key policy platform statements that Labor took to the election on this very subject (and which they have not yet delivered on).
  • Dot points on the problems with the only avenues for appeal being the court system and Ministerial Intervention Requests (it has become apparent to us that most politicians, and potentially the Immigration and Home Affairs Ministers, are not fully aware of these problems).
  • Contact details for the relevant Ministers
  • Contact details for Crossbench MPs
  • Parliament House website links for people to find their local MP and the Senators for their state.

The toolkit can be accessed here. Select a few points from the list to focus on in your letters.

Politicians do take notice of correspondence and many letters remind them this issue is unresolved and still of concern to their constituents and communities.

Thanks for your efforts!

This image below is from Cathie Bond, a beautiful reminder of the search for peace. Find the postcards at QRAR markets at Queenscliff, Point Lonsdale and Ocean Grove, or call Cathie on 0407 013 428 to ask for some, and send to a pollie.

A message from Geelong Refugees Assistance Program: Anglicans in Action

(This is a service operating in Norlane; the refugee women’s group will close but material aid can continue to be donated.)

Dear Geelong Refugee Network Members,

Thank you for your work in keeping your refugee clients up to date with details of the services of G-RAP.

It is with great sadness that the volunteers of the Gathering Place have decided to once again suspend the weekly Gathering Place for refugee women, from the end of Term 1, 2023. After recommencing following covid, in July last year, we have continued this service through to Term 1 this year in the hope of reaching a growing number of the new refugees to Geelong, but with very few refugee women attending, and only occasionally, despite increased efforts in networking, we have decided to once again suspend this ministry.

We shall however continue working with the Material Aid Distribution on the first Saturday of the month, including this Saturday from 9-10am.

Here’s a copy of our revised flyer for your convenience.

Regards,

Hilary Hoevenaars,
Deputy Chair,
G-RAP

Refugee Council of Australia Autumn 2023 newsletter

There’s many great articles in this edition, read about the new pathway to permanency and family reunion from the the perspective of a refugee who has suffered through the long and torturous limbo of temporary protection.

You’ll also find out more about the cross-party Parliamentary Friends of Refugees Group we helped launch in March.

You’ll find an opportunity to take direct action to hold the Albanese Government to their promise of providing 32,000 refugee places each year. And we’ve put together key analysis and insights on the development of refugee policy in the Albanese Government’s first year, great talking points to raise awareness among your personal networks and garner much-needed support for our work.