Leibler slams ECAJ over asylum seeker stance
AUSTRALIA/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) chairman Mark Leibler has slated the position of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) on the federal government’s new asylum seeker policy as “surprising and very disappointing”.
AUSTRALIA/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) chairman Mark Leibler has slated the position of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) on the federal government’s new asylum seeker policy as “surprising and very disappointing”.
In a statement to media last month on Labor’s policy of sending all boat arrivals to Papua New Guinea, ECAJ president Danny Lamm had said: “There are as yet too many unknowns about the legality, workability and effect of the new regional settlement arrangements between Australia and PNG to enable any informed judgements to be made. We will closely follow developments and will make a further statement if and when we consider it appropriate to do so.”
Leibler told The AJN he expected a more vigorous championing of asylum seeker rights from the peak Jewish organisation. “The Jewish people has a history in this, and even though the issue is incredibly complex and there’s no easy solutions, not to comment on the attitude adopted by both major parties, which really does involve demonising the asylum seekers, is something that is not reflective of sentiment within the Jewish community.
“Yes, we’ve got security concerns, yes, we don’t want to see drownings at sea, but on the other hand, many of these asylum seekers are fleeing from a genuine and real apprehension of persecution and we ought to adopt a much more sympathetic attitude. I think we’re only going to get there if we take this off the election agenda,” he said.
In an opinion piece in Saturday’s Age, Leibler wrote: “It chills me that we have come to a point where we are denying refugees reaching Australian waters any prospect of ever being settled in this country.”
Responding to Leibler, Lamm said “it is an exaggeration to say that the PNG policy will mean that refugees resettled on PNG will never be allowed into Australia. The government’s announced policy makes it clear that they will not be admitted into Australia as refugees, but can subsequently apply to come to Australia through regular migration, including via other elements of Australia’s humanitarian migration program, if they wish. The new policy seems to be aimed at regulating the flow of people applying to come to Australia, and not at barring any class of people from applying.
“The ECAJ has had a policy on the humane treatment of asylum seekers … since 2009 … The government has announced major policy changes in each of the last two weeks and more announcements are likely in the lead-up to the federal election. The national debate within the ECAJ and its state constituent roof bodies is already well underway and the ECAJ’s view will be announced in the near future.”
Lamm said the ECAJ is an elected body, “and on sensitive and complex national issues we seek to arrive at a consensus position which reflects as far as possible the views of most people in our community, instead of trying to impose a view”.
PETER KOHN
AIJAC chairman Mark Leibler.
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