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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.

Letters to Tyranny #64

Dear Prime Minister,

My focus in writing these letters has been on:

  1. the illegality of Australia's offshore detention system;
  2. the inhumanity of our treatment of asylum seekers;
  3. the cost;
  4. the damage being done to Australia.

You have not responded to any of these issues. While I wait for your answers I will ask you a further question, one which is directly related to the function of government in Australia. As Prime Minister, where do you believe power needs to reside: with parliament, with government. or with the executive? How does this power relate to constitutional, human or civil rights? Can this power supersede these rights? If so, under what circumstances?

Yours faithfully

Ruth Halbert