ALP's Shadow Immigration Minister welcomed with caution

Project SafeCom Inc.
P.O. Box 364
Narrogin
Western Australia 6312
Phone: 0417 090 130
Web: https://www.safecom.org.au/

ALP's Shadow Immigration Minister welcomed with caution

Media Release
Wednesday October 27 2004 9:30am WST
For Immediate Release
No Embargoes

"West Australian Refugee lobby group Project SafeCom has welcomed the new shadow immigration portfolio holder Mr Laurie Ferguson to Mark Latham's line-up, but it also expressed concerns about Mr Ferguson, spokesman Jack H Smit said today."

"While we would like to work with Mr Ferguson, he would also need to re-consider several of his comments made in the previous government term, where he suggested in email communication that the commitment of refugee advocates would quickly erode if they would live in a street full of refugees", Mr Smit said."

"Mr Ferguson, just like the majority of the coalition ministers, considers unannounced boat arrivals as 'illegal immigrants'. Mr Ferguson would have to drop this notion, because it is not illegal to arrive unannounced on Australia's shores to seek asylum, and naming asylum seekers in this way would not befit him as a prospective minister."

"The International Declaration of Human Rights was drafted by the Australian Labor Minister for External Affairs Doc Evatt. Doc Evatt would not appreciate this kind of language from his fellows in the Labor party."

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For more information:

Jack H Smit
Project SafeCom Inc.
[phone number posted]

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