REFUGEES are among the most vulnerable people on the globe, and Australia will be judged as a world citizen by the way it treats them, Australian Catholic Social Justice Council chairman Bishop Christopher Saunders said.
Bishop Saunders called for a more compassionate response to asylum seekers.
“There is a desperate need for leadership from both sides of politics on this issue. If our attitude to refugees in recent months is any measure of our humanity, we will be found badly wanting,” he said.
“Australia sees only a tiny proportion of the world’s asylum seekers. The US, Canada, France and the UK see many times more than we do.
“Measured against 42 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including 16 million refugees and asylum seekers, Australia’s annual allocation of fewer than 14,000 places under the humanitarian program is small.
“The vast majority of displaced people are seeking shelter in developing countries.”
Bishop Saunders said the Australian Government’s recent suspension of pro-cessing for Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers was regrettable.
“Applications for asylum should be assessed on individual circumstances, not simply on nationality,” he said.
“When it abandoned the ‘Pacific Solution’, the Rudd Government promised that asylum seekers would be detained for the shortest time possible. Australia must keep that promise.”
Bishop Saunders said the facilities at Western Australia’s Curtin detention centre, reopened last month to accommodate an overflow of asylum seekers from the Christmas Island facility, “are extremely unwelcoming – nothing more than a primitive detention centre devoid of resources and set in the midst of an inhospitable environment”.
“They are indicative of a national attitude lacking in compassion and care for those who have suffered so much already,” he said.
“We can afford to be far more compassionate and humane in our response to people fleeing desperate situations and in dire need.”
