Victorian Humanist

HUMANIST SOCIETY OF VICTORIA Inc.

(Reg. No. A0020272M)

Affiliated with the Council of Australian Humanist Societies (CAHS)

and the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), London, UK

MEDIA RELEASE:

HUMANISTS SUPPORT REFUGEES

AND ASYLUM SEEKERS

Victorian Humanists call upon the Australian Parliament to adopt more enlightened,  humanitarian and compassionate standards of care for refugees and asylum seekers. It may literally mean the difference between life and death for asylum seekers.

Victorian Humanists particularly oppose the proposed return of Tamils to Sri Lanka and Hazaras to Afghanistan.  Both countries have been torn by war and have suffered high numbers of civilian casualties.  Independent sources and the Australian government travel advisories state that these countries remain dangerous for civilians.

This new policy is reminiscent of the refusal of entry to Jewish refugees during World War 2. It is fuelled by racist and xenophobic attitudes and violates every international human rights principle which Australia has endorsed since the Holocaust.  We call upon the government to reverse this policy.

Humanists oppose the reopening of Curtin Detention Centre for asylum seekers; we see this as a return to the brutal policies and practices of the previous government.  Why has the government broken its promise that no children would be locked in detention?

Humanists also oppose the recent announcement of policy by Mr Abbott.  The reintroduction of Temporary Protection Visas, turning boats away or processing asylum seekers offshore, in order to deny access to Australian society and legal assistance, are violations of international humanitarian law.  We believe that Australians share a sense of natural justice and compassion; they desire to see a “fair go” for the proverbial underdog instead of the victimization of people who have already suffered great trauma and abuse.   We appeal to Mr Abbott to rewrite his refugee policy and adopt a more humanitarian approach.

The number of people seeking asylum in Australia is small compared to other industrialized nations.  We are 16th of 44 such countries and receive fewer than 2% of claims for refugee status globally.  There are poorer nations that welcome greater numbers of refugees than Australia does.  Our nation is clearly not meeting its commitments, neither under international treaty nor human decency.

Humanists ask the major political parties to take 20 June (World Refugee Day) as an opportunity to announce a major reform in their policies in order to reflect a more humanitarian approach in line with international standards.

Stephen Stuart

President, Humanist Society of Victoria Inc.

GPO Box 1555, Melbourne, VIC 3001

http://vic.humanist.org.au

17 June 2010

NSW has recently begun a trial of Ethics classes in 10 NSW public schools as an alternative for students who do not participate in special religious education (aka SRE or Scripture).  Up to 80% in some schools.

All MP's have been inundated with emails against this proposal (over 2000 in the last month). These emails are being generated by the Australian Christian Lobby via the Save Our Scripture Website. They have also launched a petition against the trial.

For all the information on the trial, please see Ethics class trial at the St James Ethics Centre website. The St James Ethics Centre has no political or religious affiliations, for more detail, see their website.

Supporting the ethics trial, a clickable checklist

1. Email NSW Education Minister Verity Firth
2. Print Penny Sharpe's parliamentary petition and have all your friends sign it
3. Join our mailing list to keep up with the latest developments
   
4. See other groups supporting the ethics trial
5. Submit this page to facebook
6. Tell all your friends!

Sourced from http://www.reasonmakesadifference.net/campaigns/ethics-trial, please click here to find out more about this campaign.

NSW Ethics Classes vs Scripture Classes – If Your Product’s a Dud, Don’t Blame the Competition, Jim

Report by Chrys Stevenson

This week there’s a right brouhaha over the introduction of a course in secular ethics in New South Wales state schools.  Jim Wallace from the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is concerned that ethics classes will undermine scripture teaching in New South Wales schools.

Western Europe has a tradition of non-religious ethical thinking that can be traced back some 2,500 years to the philosophy of the Ancient Greeks. This way of understanding the world, of finding meaning in life, and of grounding moral thinking can also be found in China and India and many other cultures. You can trace the movement of humanist ideas through time in the following sections. You can also find out more about a selection of historical figures who have influenced humanist thinking or demonstrated humanist ideals in their lives or writings.