Archbishop's plea for asylum seekers

Sydney
2 March 2003

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Archbishop's plea for asylum seekers

Archbishop Francis Carroll, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, has written to Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock with an urgent plea to allow a group of East Timorese asylum seekers to stay in Australia.

It is the second time Archbishop Carroll has written to the minister on behalf of the group of about 1800 asylum seekers.

The first letter, followed by a brief meeting with Mr Ruddock, produced no concession from the government.

In his latest letter the archbishop pointed out that Australia was the country of first choice for the East Timorese people; they had neither "jumped the queue" nor "shopped around" for the most suitable place of refuge.

Despite this, the government expected the East Timorese, many of whom are children and have lived their whole lives in Australia, to return to their impoverished and unstable homeland.

Archbishop Carroll again urged Mr Ruddock to give "sympathetic attention" to their plight.

"The Catholic Church has many agencies and individuals who are in constant communication with East Timor," he wrote.

"Their reports indicate that the country is very poor, unemployment is high and there is still inadequate housing for the current population.

"These people are mainly Catholic and have become respected and valued members of our Church community."

The level of support for the East Timorese within the Catholic community was demonstrated with 40,000 signatures on a national petition, which Archbishop Carroll, Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, presented to the minister during their brief meeting in December.

In his letter Archbishop Carroll restated his request that the government create a special visa category to acknowledge the special circumstances of the East Timorese people in question.