An open letter to Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten:   

Dear Tony and Bill  

I am writing to you both as leaders of the Government and 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 parties once stood for, by helping bring to a more timely end 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, 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.  

Finding the right solutions will require empathy and compassion.  I know this is not an easy path for either of you in a political environment where the propagation of 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.

Tony, Bill, now is the time to break with the past. Now that the awful consequences our country's asylum seeker policy have been laid bare. Now before continued attempts at justification completely erode any possibility of moral redemption for you and your respective parties. There is a small window of opportunity, and it is closing fast.  Please act now.

Tony, I know that you won't want to look like a wimp by admitting that what your government is doing is wrong, but confession can be good for the soul.  Yours and our nation.

Bill, having been bullied into bad policy and out of office, now is your opportunity earn some self-respect for you and your party. Take a stand and do what you know is right. For all of us. 

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

I am are ready.  Are you?