A shameful and heart-breaking day in Australia's history.

As of today, any doctor, healthcare worker or member of staff working at Nauru, Manus Island and other detention centres who reports child abuse, sexual assault or other forms of human degradation is breaking the law and can be imprisoned for up to two years.

The Abbott government has just made it ILLEGAL for detention centre workers to discuss conditions at the centres, on penalty of 2 years gaol.

When you actively work to silence a crime you are as guilty of that crime as the perpetrators. The Australian Government is effectively colluding with rapists, sex offenders and those that seek to manipulate, injure and demean some of the most vulnerable human beings.

How can we allow this to be our government, Australia?

Medical workers are refuting and fighting this dictate, and have published an open letter, in defiance of the government.
Their open letter can be read here:

Open letter on the Border Force Act: 'We challenge the department to prosecute'

We have a duty of care to support those fighting against the enforcement of this vile act. We have a duty of care to refute this reprehensible act publically and denounce those who support it. And most importantly, we have a duty of care to support those who have been and continue to be abused, neglected and forgotten by a government that has demonstrated, in the passing of this act, that they condone such disgraceful behaviour.

(Picture by Visualante)