Vietnamese asylum seeker Huyen is facing deportation and indefinite separation from her 4 month old baby Isabella and husband Paul. Catholics are a persecuted minority in Vietnam, and Huyen fled this persecution in 2011. She arrived in Australia by boat, and was detained in Darwin, Christmas Island, Villawood, and then in community detention. In November 2017, Huyen was living in St Albans in Melbourne with her husband Paul, and was 4 months pregnant when she was taken into MITA detention centre in Broadmeadows. In January this year Border Force loaded her onto a chartered flight to Vietnam, but she was 8 months pregnant and so was taken off the plane just before it departed. Huyen is now in MITA detention centre with her 4 month old daughter, and there are no legal barriers to her deportation. Her husband Paul, Isabella’s father, must submit to drug tests, metal detectors, and notoriously elaborate application forms to visit them after work each day. Isabella has inherited her father’s 457 visa status (he is Mauritius Chinese), and if she is deported Huyen would be indefinitely separated from her daughter and husband. Catholic asylum seekers who were returned to Vietnam from Indonesia last year were harassed, arrested, and threatened with imprisonment. Government led and government sanctioned land confiscations, church burnings, violence and threats of torture continue against Catholics and other religious minorities in Vietnam. The UNHCR has just condemned Australia for separating a Sri Lankan refugee family, where the father was deported leaving the mother and 11 month old baby in Sydney. UNHCR is urging the Government of Australia to uphold the fundamental principle of family unity, and allow family members to be together. XIN ĐỪNG TRỤC XUẤT HUYỀN – ĐỪNG CHIA RẼ GIA ĐÌNH HUYỀN Kính gởi Ông Peter Dutton , Bộ trưởng bộ di trú Cô Huyền là một người tầm trú vượt biển tìm tự do đang có nguy cơ bị trục xuất về Việt nam đau xót lìa xa con thơ Isabella 4 tháng và chồng là Paul Đàn áp Công giáo tại Nghệ an Việt nam đã đẩy Huyền trốn chạy khỏi Việt nam bằng ghe vượt biển ,đến đảo Chrismas Island , rồi trại cấm Darwin , trại cấm Villawood , nhà quản thúc . Tháng 11/2017 , đang sống ở St Albans với chồng thì Huyền bị bắt đưa vào trại biệt giam MITA lúc đang mang thai được 4 tháng . Tháng 1/2018 Huyền bị đưa ra sân bay để trục xuất về Việt nam , nhưng lúc đó thai nhi đã được 8 tháng , vì sự an toàn cho thai nhi nên nhân viên bộ di trú đã đưa Huyền xuống khỏi máy bay trở lại trại MITA Bây giờ Huyền đang ở trại MITA với con gái 4 tháng mà không được tí ân huệ nào ngăn chận nguy cơ trục xuất về Việt nam . Anh Paul mỗi ngày sau khi đi làm về phải trải qua nhiều khám xét về ma túy , vũ khí và độc dược để điền đơn vào thăm vợ con . Bé Isabella thừa nhận visa 457 của cha ( Paul là người Trung Hoa) visa làm việc tạm thời , do đó nếu bị trục xuất cô sẽ đau đớn xa con thơ và chồng Năm ngoái bộ di trú đã trục xuất những người tầm trú vì bị đàn áp tôn giáo về Việt nam từ Indonesia , những người này đã bị quấy nhiễu , bị bắt bỏ tù , bị tra tấn và đe dọa đến khủng hoảng Nhà nước Việt nam đã ra sắc lệnh tịch thu đất đai , đốt cháy nhà thờ , đập phá các nơi thờ cúng của đạo Công giáo và các đạo khác Cao ủy tỵ nạn Liên Hiệp Quốc cũng lên án bộ di trú Úc đã tàn nhẫn trục xuất người chồng người tỵ nạn Sri Lanka về nước bỏ lại vợ và con 11 tháng ở Sydney . Cao ủy tỵ nạn Liên Hiệp Quốc cũng yêu cầu chính phủ Úc phải quan tâm và xét lại đạo luật nhân đạo để giữ cho gia đình được ở chung với nhau Chúng tôi xin Ông Bộ trưởng Dutton hãy cho Huyền một ân huệ cuối cùng để được ra khỏi trại biệt giam MITA và ân xá cho Huyền được theo visa của chồng và con .

Australia continues to forcibly deport asylum seekers back to places such as Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Afghanistan where they face imprisonment, torture and death. Article 33 of the UN Refugee Convention, to which Australia is a signatory, states “No Contracting State shall expel or return ('refouler’) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his [sic] life or freedom would be threatened on account of his [sic] race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” Thousands of asylum seekers in Australia are at risk of deportation particularly because the Coalition government changed asylum assessment processes and abolished the Refugee Review Tribunal. An investigation by the Edmund Rice Centre in 2011 found that of 179 refugees who were forcibly returned to Afghanistan 20 had been confirmed killed and dozens more had disappeared. An update of the report in July 2017 concludes “it would be impossible for Australian, European and other governments to guarantee the safety of Afghan returnees in this period of instability”. Deportation itself is a brutal process often involving physical or chemical restraint. It breaches Australia’s obligations under international law. People deported by Australia have been bound and gagged. Deportations sometimes occur in the middle of the night with little to no warning for the person being deported. In 2010 Jimmy Mubenga, was suffocated to death while being restrained on a British Airways flight during deportation by the UK government. Deportation invariably puts passenger safety at risk because asylum seekers will often rightfully resist the process. Abdlmoneim Khogali, a Sudanese asylum seeker handcuffed to a passenger seat ripped the seat from its floor mountings in an attempt to avoid deportation from Australia. He was then beaten by guards in front of passengers. Several attempts were made to inject him with tranquilliser, the needle missed and bent into the seat. He was eventually injected with that same bent and contaminated needle, and bears scars from it. Deportation is self-evidently harmful for asylum seekers and can also be traumatic for airline staff and passengers. Airlines are not legally required to carry out forced deportations. In Germany pilots refused to carry out deportations 222 times between January and September 2017. Lufthansa spokesman Michael Lamberty told the Westdeutsche Allegeimeine Zeitung newspaper that pilots were able to make such decisions if they thought that flight safety could be affected. Deportations are happening here in Australia quite frequently. Just weeks ago a Tamil family from Biloela in Queensland were ripped from their beds in the middle of the night. Priya, Nades and their two young girls now face imminent deportation from MITA detention centre in Melbourne. We know that Tamils face torture and even death upon their return to Sri Lanka. This petition has been endorsed by: - Dr Gillian Triggs - Julian Burnside - People Just Like Us - The Edmund Rice Centre

The Pacific Solution is a failed policy. Mandatory detention of refugees is a failed policy. Every week brings a new low in Australia's refugee policy. Every day brings fresh heartache and despair for refugees suffering at Australia's hands. And right now, every hour brings thirst, hunger and the risk of death-by-policy to the 600 men on Manus Island left without power, water, food or medical supplies by the closure of the refugee camp without provision for safe settlement of the people detained there for years. Last year thousands of Australians rallied and organised, protested, moved motions in their unions and community organisations and demanded sanctuary for asylum-seekers and refugees in Australia for medical care. At that time, state governments stepped up to offer protection to these vulnerable people. In the same way, the Queensland state government should offer safety, housing and settlement services, both because it is humane and to help break the federal political consensus that there is no limit to the abuse that can be directed at refugees, in the attempt to look "tough." Refugees are not our enemy. It is heartless racism and vilification of the vulnerable that is the biggest threat in this situation. It is time to stop saying "stop the boats" and start to recogise asylum saves lives.

As the Government is aware, homosexual men are being rounded up and held in concentration camps. We understand that they are being tortured and killed by Chechnyan authorities. Chechnyan leaders are also calling for families to kill their gay relatives. Some are managing to escape Chechnya, but persecution against LGBTI people is ongoing in Russia, and offers no safe haven. We cannot standby and watch as gay people are killed by their own Governments which should be protecting their rights. As an open and accepting society, and under its human rights obligations, Australia should offer refuge to any LGBT asylum seekers fleeing from these forms of persecution. We can create a safe place for these men to live without fear and persecution. The Australian Government needs to act now!

We support Teachers for Refugees! Teachers for Refugees (T4R) needs our support. T4R seeks to raise awareness about the cruel and inhumane treatment of asylum seekers, including hundreds of school-age children, in Australian-run detention centres. To this end, members and supporters of T4R will be wearing pro-refugee t-shirts to school next week and will hold a vigil on Monday after class from 6pm at City Square. For encouraging teachers to publicly show opposition to the systematic abuse of asylum seekers in detention centres, the group has been subjected to a campaign of vilification by the Murdoch press. The Liberal government, from the Prime Minister to the Federal Immigration and Education ministers, have now turned their fire on T4R, urging Principles to discipline or even sack teachers for wearing the t-shirts. This is both an attack on freedom of political expression, and an attempt to intimidate and silence the voices of refugee supporters. Shamefully the government has long restricted the right to free speech with regard to its treatment of asylum seekers. This includes criminalising teachers of asylum seekers who speak out against cases of abuse in detention, via the Border Force Act. The Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union is in support of Teachers for Refugees, with Branch President Meredeth Peace publicly backing the t-shirt action. Strong support has also been forthcoming from refugee advocacy groups. It is crucial that we all voice our support now to give courage to teachers to take a stand and to send a message to Principles and the Federal government that their campaign of bullying and threats will be resisted. We the undersigned give complete support to Teachers for Refugees in their campaign to support asylum seekers and recognise their right to express themselves freely.

Universities around Australia are funding detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru by doing business with the same companies that provide the security at these centres. We want to keep our Universities ethical. Tell them to stop contracting and contributing to companies like Serco, Wilson's Security and Broadspectrum who profit from Offshore Detention. This campaign, run by the National Union of Students, aims to highlight the plight of Asylum Seekers and to show that students and the community don't want their Universities associated with companies involved in Offshore Detention. Sign the petition and share to let people know that you want your University Ethical!

Queensland Unions stands in solidarity with the doctors, nurses and health care professionals of Lady Cilento Children's Hospital who are refusing to release Baby Asha without a safe environment for her to return "home" to. Nauru, and Manus, are not safe places. The Australian union movement says ... #LetThemStay

Because TISM

Disgracefully, Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull has invited US President Donald Trump to visit Australia. This is likely to occur after the APEC summit in PNG in November. Donald Trump is a racist, misogynist, lying billionaire who is trying to drag global politics to the far right. His brand of extreme nationalism, Islamophobia, greed, anti-refugee, anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-LGBTI, anti-union and anti-environment rhetoric and policies are abhorrent to the majority of the Australian public. The Turnbull government has aligned with Trump's bigoted and militaristic global agenda at every opportunity. We want to see Australia distanced from Trump's values. His values do not represent the interests of most people on the planet or the planet itself. More than ever we need to join together in Australia and across borders to struggle for a world that respects the equal rights and wonderful diversity of humanity, protects our fragile environment and equitably shares the enormous wealth all around us. We call on Malcolm Turnbull to rescind Trump's invitation to Australia and for the parliament to prohibit him from speaking if his visit goes ahead. We pledge that if Trump does visit we will meet him with mass demonstrations to show our opposition to everything his Presidency stands for.

Workers at Perfection Fresh in Two Wells, South Australia - the largest tomato glasshouse in the southern hemisphere - come from many nations and speak more than 20 languages. These hard working people have many ideas on how to make your glasshouse the best in the world. In return, they are asking Perfection Fresh to commit to providing secure jobs and a fair wage increase to help workers and their families have a decent life in Australia. Since February workers have been negotiating in good faith with local management for a new workplace agreement. They have listened to management's concerns. They have made proposals and suggestions and amended their original claims in the spirit of fair negotiation. They have continued to patiently listen, but now workers feel stuck on a one way street. Local management will not commit to basic claims from workers, which will improve their lives significantly. More than 230 people at Perfection Fresh have worked full time hours for more than 12 months, planting, twisting, pruning, picking and packing the tomatoes that go to Coles and Woolworths. But still they are employed as casuals. Only 70 workers have secure full time jobs. Perfection Fresh has received millions of dollars from the South Australian government to support the expansion of the glasshouse. In 2015, the company pledged to create 150 full time jobs – two years later, these jobs have not materialised. Many workers came to Australia as refugees and are trying to start a new life after experiencing war, persecution or conflict. As casual workers, taking unpaid leave to visit their family overseas is a scary thing because there is no guarantee there will be a job for them when they get back. This means some workers have not seen their children in more than 5 years. Workers have been told that they will not be paid above the minimum wage. They are told they only deserve the lowest wage in Australia. That is the value of their contribution and hard work. Workers believe they deserve more respect. Most of what they are asking for will not cost the company money but will deliver some certainty in workers' lives. Peter, without your involvement workers are worried that their concerns and ideas will continue to fall on deaf ears. You have the power to make Perfection Fresh the best employer in the industry. Please come and meet with us in Two Wells, South Australia.