Ruth Halbert
artist, weaver
Paper boat Rud.jpg

Blog: Dear Prime Minister

On July 30 2016 I started writing letters to the Prime Minister of Australia to protest against the imprisonment and torture of the asylum seekers in the offshore detention centres of Manus Island and Nauru. I started with the intention of writing a letter a day for every person in detention until they are all freed. There are more than 1800 asylum seekers in off shore detention. These are those letters and any response from Mr Turnbull.

Federal Cabinet can free refugees at any time

Dear Prime Minister,

“The Australian government’s determination that the refugees residing on Manus and Nauru never come to Australia and its inability to find other homes for all of them has created what one MP calls an “intractable problem”. There are many intractable problems in international affairs but this is most certainly not one of them. The solution is a straightforward one and entirely within the authority of the federal cabinet to implement. It is high time it did so.”
— Jenny Hayward-Jones, http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/australia-refugee-2017/

Bring all refugees on Manus and Nauru to freedom and safety now.

politicsRuth HalbertManus Island, Nauru, freedom, tortureComment