11 December, 2001
The Hon John Howard MP
Prime Minister of Australia
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
cc: The Hon John Anderson MP
Senator Bob Brown
The Hon Simon Crean MP
Senator Natasha Stott Despoja
His Excellency The Right Reverend Dr Peter Hollingworth
The Editor, The Advertiser
The Editor, The Age
The Editor, The Australian
The Editor, The Canberra Times
The Editor, The Courier-Mail
The Editor, The Mercury
The Editor, The Northern Territory News
The Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald
The Editor, The West Australian
Current Affairs Bureau, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
News Desk, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Dear Prime Minister,
We write to you as a group
of Australian citizens currently living
overseas, who share a common
concern with regard to recent
events in
Australia that have
attracted significant international criticism.
We are proud that Australia
is one of the most multicultural countries
in the world. Immigrants
have made a profound contribution to
Australia's unique national
character. Although our history is not
perfect in this regard, we
have succeeded in creating a common identity
through tolerance and
open-mindedness towards those who join our
community.
In this light, we are
disturbed and disappointed by the Federal
Government's actions in
relation to the desperate plight of
refugees.
We are deeply concerned that
Australia's international standing
as an open and tolerant
nation has been compromised. As
ambassadors for our country,
we have found it difficult to justify to
our overseas colleagues the
Australian Government's recent decisions in
this regard.
Furthermore, we strongly
object to the Government's use of language
that de-humanises and
vilifies refugees trying to escape persecution.
We feel that, as Prime
Minister, you have a responsibility to encourage
Australian citizens to
overcome their fears and uncertainties about the
significant changes that are
currently taking place in the
international sphere.
Instead, we believe that your Government has
framed the debate in a way
that gives legitimacy to intolerance in the
general community. We ask
you to move beyond populism and to conduct
Australia's affairs in a way
that reflects our status as a
forward-thinking nation.
We call on the Australian
Government to comply with its international
treaty obligations with
respect to refugees, and to meet its
responsibilities as an
international citizen in responding to
humanitarian disasters.
We call on the Australian
Government to respond to the current
refugee
crisis (as it did for East
Timor) by increasing the number of available
places in the Humanitarian
Program for the refugees currently fleeing
Central Asia and the Middle
East.
We call on the Australian
Government to put an end to mandatory
detention and to inhumane
treatment of asylum seekers.
We care deeply about
Australia's role and future direction, and
strongly entreat you to
re-visit these issues.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Bryan Gaensler
Cambridge MA, USA
Clay Fellow,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University
1999 Young Australian of the
Year
Ms Geraldine Chin
Cambridge MA, USA
Fulbright Scholar and Knox
Fellow, Harvard Law School, Harvard University
Mr Andrew Leigh
Cambridge MA, USA
Knox Fellow, Kennedy School
of Government, Harvard University
Mr Simon Fitzpatrick
Cambridge MA, USA
Knox Fellow, Harvard Law
School, Harvard University
Ms Kerrie Burmeister
Cambridge MA, USA
Fulbright Scholar, Harvard
Law School, Harvard University
Ms Avril Alba
Cambridge MA, USA
Faculty Member, Harvard
Hillel, Harvard University
Mr Jon Anstey
Geneva, Switzerland
Legal Officer, United
Nations Compensation Commission
Mr John Asker
Cambridge MA, USA
PhD Candidate, Department of
Economics, GSAS, Harvard University
Research Associate, Harvard
Business School, Harvard University
Mr Ben Austin
Dublin, Ireland
Dr Ivan Baldry
Baltimore MD, USA
Postdoctoral Fellow,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins
University
Mr James Bales
Hamburg, Germany
Central Coordinator for
Australia/NZ/Asia/Pacific Region, Hamburg-Sud
Ms Laurie Berg
New York NY, USA
Graduate Merit Scholar,
School of Law, New York University
Ms Saskia Besier
Christchurch, New Zealand
Lecturer, University of
Canterbury
Ms Jacqueline Boyle
London, United Kingdom
Marketing Manager, Microsoft
Ltd
Dr Roger Brissenden
Cambridge MA, USA
Manager, Chandra X-ray
Center, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Dr Kate J. Brooks
Santiago, Chile
Astronomy Fellow, European
Southern Observatory
Mr Chester Brown
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Sir Robert Menzies Scholar
in Law, Cambridge University
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Cambridge, United Kingdom
Benefactor's Scholar, St
John's College, Cambridge University
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Boston MA, USA
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Solicitor
London, United Kingdom
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Oxford, United Kingdom
Rhodes Scholar and Wilkinson
Junior Research Fellow, Worcester College,
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Washington DC, USA
Office of General Counsel,
Federal Trade Commission
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Milton Keynes, United
Kingdom
Research Scientist
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London, United Kingdom
Centenary of Federation
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Ann Arbor MI, USA
Assistant Professor,
University of Michigan
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Cambridge MA, USA
Visiting Professor, Harvard
Law School, Harvard University
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Oxford, United Kingdom
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John's College, Oxford University
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London, United Kingdom
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Oxford, United Kingdom
2001 South Australia Rhodes
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Cambridge MA, USA
Kennedy School of
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Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Madison NJ, USA
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Oxford, United Kingdom
Corpus Christi College,
Oxford University
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London, United Kingdom
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Battersea Arts Centre
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Boston MA, USA
Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
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Princeton NJ, USA
Woodrow Wilson School of
Public and International Affairs, Princeton
University
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Cambridge MA, USA
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Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard
University
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New York NY, USA
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Ithaca NY, USA
Fulbright Scholar, Cornell
University
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San Francisco CA, USA
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Fluidigm Corporation
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Cambridge, United Kingdom
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in Law, Cambridge University
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New York NY, USA
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Department of History, Columbia University
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Oxford, United Kingdom
2000 NSW Rhodes Scholar,
Balliol College, Oxford University
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Cambridge MA, USA
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Center for Space Research, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
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Santiago, Chile
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Southern Observatory
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Brookline MA, USA
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Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
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Boston MA, USA
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Police Department
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Salt Lake City UT, USA
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Cambridge MA, USA
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Oxford, United Kingdom
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Cambridge MA, USA
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Business School, Harvard University
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Allston MA, USA
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Poway CA, USA
New Business Development
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Cambridge MA, USA
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Cambridge MA, USA
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Cambridge MA, USA
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Cambridge MA, USA
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New York NY, USA
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Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Cambridge University
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San Francisco CA, USA
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Pittsburgh PA, USA
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Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh
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The Hague, The Netherlands
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International Court of Justice
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New York NY, USA
Exchange Student, School of
Law, New York University
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Boston MA, USA
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Phoenix AZ, USA
Frank Lloyd Wright School of
Architecture
Mr Michael Izzo
Oxford, United Kingdom
2000 Rhodes Scholar for
Australia-at-large, Lincoln College, Oxford
University
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Catherine's College, Oxford
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Stanford CA, USA
Stanford University
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San Francisco CA, USA
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New York NY, USA
Associate, Strategic
Planning Group, Morgan Stanley, New York
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New York NY, USA
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Woods Hole MA, USA
Massachusetts Institute of
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Cambridge MA, USA
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Mr Christopher Kearns
Singapore
Senior Architectural
Associate, Airport Division, PWD Consultants
Mr Andrew Keller
London, United Kingdom
MBA Student, London Business
School
Dr Vikram Khurana
Cambridge MA, USA
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Harvard Medical School,
Harvard University
Dr Zoe Laidlaw
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Lecturer in International
History, Department of History, University of
Sheffield
1997-2000 Commonwealth
Scholar
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London, United Kingdom
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Cambridge, United Kingdom
Gates Cambridge Scholar,
Cambridge University
Dr Catherine Leamey
Cambridge MA, USA
Brain and Cognitive
Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1998-2001 Peter Doherty
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mr Craig Leech
New York NY, USA
Civil Engineer
Mr Paul Loftus
London, United Kingdom
Commonwealth Scholar, School
of Law, King's College, University of London
Ms Arlie Loughnan
New York NY, USA
Fulbright Scholar, New York
University
Ms Kate Luxford
Oxford, United Kingdom
2000 Western Australia
Rhodes Scholar, Magdalen College, Oxford University
Ms Jane McAdam
Oxford, United Kingdom
Chevening Scholar and
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Ms Shannon McDermott
Boston MA, USA
Biomedical Engineer,
NeuroMuscular Research Center, Boston University
Mr Patrick Mackerras
Peterborough, United Kingdom
Mathematics Teacher, Oundle
School
Ms Alex Macoun
Durham NC, USA
Exchange Student, School of
Law, Duke University
Mr David Madden
Cambridge MA, USA
Fulbright Scholar and Knox
Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
University
Mr Yoni Magid
Cambridge MA, USA
Harvard Law School, Harvard
University
Ms Felicity Maher
Oxford, United Kingdom
Commonwealth Scholar,
Magdalen College, Oxford University
Mr Tim Markham
Oxford, United Kingdom
Doctoral student in
Politics, Oxford University
Mr Michael Mellon
London, United Kingdom
Dr Daniel Mortlock
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Research Associate,
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge
Ms Kala Mulqueeny
Cambridge MA, USA
Graduate Fellow, Harvard Law
School, Harvard University
Ms Kate Murphy
Baltimore MD, USA
Research Scientist,
Smithsonian Institution
Mr John Murray
London, United Kingdom
Ms Tracy O'Callaghan
New York NY, USA
Ms Sarah Ogilvie
Oxford, United Kingdom
Trinity College, Oxford
University
Mr Nicholas J. Owens
New York NY, USA
Mr Bruce Preston
Princeton NJ, USA
Woodrow Wilson Scholar,
Department of Economics, Princeton University
Mr Nick Purtell
The Hague, The Netherlands
Lawyer
Ms Elizabeth Raper
London, UK
Solicitor, Baker &
McKenzie
Mr Andrew Riseley
London, United Kingdom
Commonwealth Scholar, Law
Department, London School of Economics
Dr John Romalis
Chicago IL, USA
Assistant Professor of
Economics, Graduate School of Business, University of
Chicago
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London, United Kingdom
Development Producer,
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Mr Michael Rush
Oxford, United Kingdom
Magdalen College, Oxford
University
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California, USA
Attorney
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Oxford, United Kingdom
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College, Oxford University
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Port Moresby, Papua New
Guinea
Student and Development
Consultant
Ms Victoria Silberbauer
London, United Kingdom
Lawyer
Ms Amelia Simpson
New York NY, USA
Fulbright Scholar and
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Ithaca NY, USA
Department of Physics,
Cornell University
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Oxford, United Kingdom
1999 Victoria Rhodes
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London, United Kingdom
Senior Associate, Booz Allen
Hamilton
Mr Tom Snow
Oxford, United Kingdom
2000 Victoria Rhodes Scholar,
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Sriskandarajah
Oxford, United Kingdom
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University
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Cambridge MA, USA
Harvard College, Harvard
University
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Amsterdam, The Netherlands
University of Amsterdam
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London, United Kingdom
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Oxford, United Kingdom
2000 Queensland Rhodes
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Mr Steven Suchting
Oxford, United Kingdom
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Molecular Medicine, Oxford University
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Boston MA, USA
Sloan School of Management,
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New York NY, USA
Australian Equities
Specialist
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Oxford, United Kingdom
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Oxford University
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St Petersburg, Russia
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Mr Christopher Thompson
London, United Kingdom
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Department, London School of Economics
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London, United Kingdom
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Philadelphia PA, USA
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Oxford, United Kingdom
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New York NY, USA
Legal Consultant, Office of
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Washington DC, USA
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Oxford, United Kingdom
Department of Educational
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La Paz, Bolivia
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San Francisco CA, USA
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London, United Kingdom
1999 Western Australia
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