BURN THE BILL – Tuesday 11 October – 12noon – Treasury Place ( outside PM Gillard’s Melbourne office)
Your chance to show what you think of the Migration Legislation Amendment (Offshore Processing and Or Measures) Bill .
The Refugee Advocacy Network members will meet at TREASURY PLACE at 12midday.
Refugee tribunal reflects political agenda: ex-diplomat
A former member of Australia’s Refugee Review Tribunal says many asylum seeker applications are initially rejected to meet the Government’s political agenda.
On average, two-thirds of the asylum seekers initially rejected by the tribunal are then found to be genuine refugees upon appeal by the High Court.
Former diplomat Bruce Haigh sat on the review panel for five years.
He says those on the panel wilfully use incorrect information to reject asylum seekers to appease the Government.
“They’ve been using incorrect country information and putting the best possible spin on cases in terms of what the Government wants to do, which is to send people back,” he said.
“They don’t get reappointed if they don’t make the ‘right’ decisions.
“If they stick to their charter, which is that they are independent members, and that is, don’t take into account what the mood of the Government is, then most of them would be letting a lot more people stay.”
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen’s office has rejected claims that members of the tribunal are removed if they do not reinforce the Government’s political agenda.
A spokesman for Mr Bowen says it is an independent process and the claims are baseless and offensive.
And the rest of us say- RUBBISH