RISE eX-detainees highly condemn the Morrison Government’s attempt to silence the not-for-profit advocacy and welfare sector in Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Government is on the verge of wiping out not-for-profit advocacy and rights organisations in Australia by imposing draconian federal government laws against charities. This newly proposed legislation will change the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) Regulation Governance Standard 3.
This will mean a charity can be deregistered by the Australian government if people in the organisation are involved in blocking a footpath or participate in “unlawful” assembly in private or public spaces during a protest or rally. People engaged in protest can also be fined more than $13,320. This contravenes the constitutional right to assembly and association.
We are not at all surprised by the Australian Government’s repressive moves against the charity sector considering that it is headed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison who has already BLOCKED RISE from his personal Twitter account. The same Prime Minister is also known for having proudly displayed a trophy in his office boasting his “achievement” of having blocked boats of fleeing refugees from seeking safe haven in Australia. It demonstrates the explicit contempt for the rights of the oppressed, especially people of colour, who do not fit his white supremacist “Christian” agenda and don’t fit the mould of wanting to partake in eating curry or having an Iftar meal with him while he continues to abuse our people’s rights.
Remember that the main reason Australian politicians get away with continuously vilifying our community who arrive by boat is that we are one of the most disadvantaged communities in the country. If the legislation is passed, it will be one of the biggest blows to eX-detainee campaigns and self-empowering community advocacy work in Australia and will further silence our voices.
We have suffered over decades because Australian politicians have used the torture of our community members as political currency. We are the living proof of Australia’s crimes against humanity. If we are silenced under the new legislation the whole refugee sector will sink to hell. We will lose necessary rights of association and protest- face more aggressive and targeted policing and risk losing our charity status.
For decades, Australian politicians have been stoking racism by misleading the public for political gain. Asylum seekers arriving by boat have been painted as “queue jumpers”, a legacy continued throughout successive Labor and Liberal Governments, including Morrison’s. This is happening in the name of supposedly– “protecting Australia’s borders”.
As we witness Scott Morrison and his crew frantically attempting to reengineer the Liberal party’s political strategy by attempting to silence the not-for-profit advocacy sector, as well as continue to ensure the mandatory detention of rape and torture survivors, it is is another slap in our face.
Scott Morrison and his party MUST stop targeting the rights of eX-detainee survivors. RISE urges the public to contact Members of parliament and Senators in their local electorates and support our condemnation of these proposed new laws.
‘Nothing About Us Without Us’
RISE eX-detainees