Chairperson ’ s Introduction
The Fitzroy Learning Network ’ s wonderful staff and volunteers continue to provide much needed support for refugees , asylum seekers and other new and recent arrivals to our community .
It is with some disappointment though that the year has flown by and not much has changed in relation to asylum seeker and refugee policy . Indeed we seem to have gone backwards . It is time to speak out continuously in an effort to change the narrative around refugee arrivals and to dispel the myths and lies that are perpetually broadcast around this issue .
People who come to Australia by boat seeking asylum are not behaving illegally . There is no queue for coming to Australia – anywhere in the world . No queue has ever existed . We must stop boats so people won ’ t drown . Nobody has to drown if we competently abide by laws of the sea . We need to break the ‘ people smuggling business model ’ as if this is a business creating a market instead of a business responding to a demand .
These are just a few of the myths that are constantly aired as if they are fact . They greatly hinder any sensible debate around what best to do in the interests of both the refugees and asylum seekers and the country , and indeed the region .
People movements are also greatly exaggerated . There are currently some 14 million refugees in the world of which 500,000 are seeking asylum in the West . This makes the relatively small number arriving by boat seeking asylum in Australia seem even smaller . In the 36 years from 1976-2012 some 45,000 people have arrived by boat . That is a little over 1000 per year . This includes years of greater numbers – most recent – 5609 in 2009-10 , 4940 in 2010-11 , and a little over 13,000 in 2012 . Despite the higher number of recent arrivals it is still a tiny proportion of the 500,000 . Also not mentioned often are the asylum seekers who arrive by plane who are not subject to the same harsh treatment .
During the next year the Fitzroy Learning Network will be seeking to campaign for a change in this approach , and a return to humane policies towards people who need our support – from wherever they come . As I have said before we know from experience that we do well in assisting others to settle here . We have done so for generations . The Network is only one of many organisations and groups of people who welcome refugees and recognise the contribution they make to our community regardless of how they may arrive . We need to make our voices heard ; we need to let our politicians know that we can and do assist refugees to settle successfully into our communities ; and we know that we are better for it economically , socially and culturally .
Over the next year we will build on our successes and continue to work with other like-minded organisations in advocating for the development of an effective and sustainable regional protection framework for asylum seekers and refugees . Together we need to ensure that we progress positively towards a workable , humane policy .
Claire Woods Chairperson
2 Fitzroy Learning Network Annual Report 2011 / 12