A letter to Bill Shorten

A letter to Bill Shorten



This letter by one of our readers, James Horton was sent not just to Bill Shorten but to The Age, The Australian, the Herald Sun
and a copy to The AIMN. I publish it here as most of our readers, as
well as myself, support onshore processing of asylum seekers.


Dear Bill,


I am writing to you as leader of the Opposition to ask you take a
lead in undoing the harm being caused by our current asylum seeker
policy, by rejecting off-shore processing and indefinite detention.


There is a human tragedy currently unfolding before us and you have
an opportunity to re-embrace the values your party once stood for, by
helping bring to a more timely end to a dark chapter in our country’s
history. With each passing day, we are all the more diminished as a
people and as a nation.


We should all know better. We have witnessed the awful legacy of past
injustices wrought in our name, like the “Stolen Generation”, and the
abuse of children in church and state care (now the subject of a Royal
Commission). These have been injustices enabled by misguided policies,
administered by trusted institutions, and perpetuated by secrecy,
misinformation and “good” people prepared to “look the other way”.


Let us not allow our treatment of asylum seekers be our generation’s terrible legacy.


All I ask, Bill, is that you have the courage and conviction to come
to terms with the human and economic failings of our government’s policy
and provide a voice that truly represents the values we uphold as
Australians.


Our minor political parties and independents cannot do this on their own.


Finding the right solutions will require empathy and compassion. I
know this is not an easy path for you in a political environment where
propagating fear and ignorance have become a drug of addiction, but it
is the right path. The good news is that the right moral solutions don’t
need to come at the expense of achieving good economic outcomes.


There are communities across Australia ready and willing to be be
better partners than G4S and Transfield can ever be . . . and surely
treating our biggest neighbour, Indonesia, as part of a solution rather
part of a problem, offers the promise of better long-term humanitarian
and economic outcomes than the exploitation of impoverished countries
like PNG and Nauru.


Bill, now is the time to break with the past while the electoral
cycle is young, and before your party’s continued tacit support
completely erodes any possibility of regaining moral credibility. There
is a small window of opportunity, and it is closing rapidly. Please act
now.


And Bill, one more thing . . . this is not just about asylum seekers.
It’s about starting a new conversation with the Australian people that
appeals to the strengths of our national character, not our weaknesses.
The values we need to take on the challenges ahead. It’s about a new
conversation about what it takes to make a resilient nation, starting
with its people.


I am ready. Are you?


James has started a change.org petition to Bill Shorten to Take a stand for human decency and please end off-shore processing and indefinite detention.