14th August 2013
The ECAJ has had a policy on refugees and asylum seekers since 2009. We are looking at updating it to take into account the government’s new PNG/Nauru policy. The ECAJ obviously cannot simply announce that it has made a policy change unless it has debated and approved the change internally. The item is on the agenda for the ECAJ’s Committee of Management meeting on August 27. If there is agreement by the Committee of Management, the policy change could be adopted in advance of the meeting.
Since the Government first announced the new resettlement arrangements with PNG, much more has been published about the way the policy will operate. It has also since become clear that the proposition that certain refugees will “never” be resettled in Australia is not accurate. Persons who are found to be refugees and who are resettled in PNG or Nauru can still apply to come to Australia as regular migrants, including by way of other components of Australia’s humanitarian program. In addition, a further resettlement agreement with Nauru was announced on 3 August 2013.
A draft resolution to amend the ECAJ’s existing policy on refugees and asylum seekers has now been prepared and circulated to the ECAJ’s Committee of Management. A link to that text appears below. The existing policy can be accessed at http://www.ecaj.org.au/policy-platform/ (Item 7). Government publications concerning the PNG Agreement (x3) and Nauru Agreement, and a Refugee Policy Review Background Paper prepared by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies can be accessed here on the ECAJ website.
Members of the community are invited to comment on the draft resolution via the ECAJ FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/ECAJewry or by Twitter https://twitter.com/ECAJewry or by email info@ecaj.org.au.
Comment will be open for 1 week only from 5:00pm on August 14 to 5:00pm on August 21. Any comment which is abusive in any way (including racist or defamatory comment) will be deleted.
The ECAJ will not regard comments we receive as a de facto poll, and numbers of people expressing a particular viewpoint will not be considered in any way to be reflective of the level of community support for that viewpoint. We are seeking considered, evidence-based comment that the ECAJ Committee of Management can take into account. The final decision on ECAJ policy will be made by the Committee of Management.
Click HERE to read ECAJ proposed Policy change.
