Over 50,000 people have now signed our petition - thank you to all of you who have supported the effort to keep phones in the hands of asylum seekers held in detention, and keep holding the Government and Border Force staff to account.
While it's not yet the win we want, we are happy to report that this law was not passed (yet) and was instead sent to the Senate Committee to be discussed in August. This means that the Government was not successful in sneaking it through into law under the cover of COVID-19 panic.
In a couple of weeks, submissions to that Senate Committee will close. We will be making a submission, and soon you'll hear from us about how YOU can also make a submission and have your voice heard.
This petition has also attracted the attention of the SBS and in the below blog, NJP Executive Director George Newhouse summarises why law to effectively silence asylum seekers and refugees is so heinous.
The battle isn't over yet but with 50,000 of you with us, we're confident we'll get there. Look out for our email update soon about how you can help politicians to see some sense. The Government must bin the proposed law to remove mobile phones from asylum seekers and refugees in immigration detention.
National Justice Project