TV Commercial

‘Faces in the Crowd’ Contributors’ Statement.

We the undersigned have collectively funded ‘Faces in the Crowd’, a prime time television commercial expressing concern and outrage at the Government’s treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. ‘Faces in the Crowd’ will go to air on 10th December, Human Rights Day.

We do not support the Government or the Opposition in their actions and policies regarding refugees and asylum seekers inside Australia and outside Australia.

We do not agree with what is being done in our name in the national or international community.

We do not agree with deterring so-called people smugglers by abusing the vulnerable people they smuggle. Mistreating people in order to deter others from coming directly contravenes the spirit of international burden-sharing and Australia’s obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to The Status Of Refugees. It is also a policy that clearly does not work.

We do not accept that the cost of the detention system and the ‘Pacific solution’ to the Australian taxpayer is necessary or justifiable. The government has spent over $200 million in placing people in Nauru and other parts of the Pacific and often more than $50,000 per person in detention in Australia. Following the UNHCR Guidelines on Detention and the International Refugee Convention would be far cheaper. Asylum seekers trying to enter our waters should be allowed to seek asylum and should not be detained or turned away.

We call for an end to all verbal vilification and dehumanising language used by both major parties and their ministers and in the media when referring to people who come to Australia as asylum seekers. ‘Boat people’ is a demeaning term in Australian slang. Human beings cannot be 'earmarked' for various camps. Human beings cannot be 'processed', a term which should be exclusively used to refer to applications not persons. ‘Queue jumper’ is a term that is increasingly used to remove individuality and make adverse generalisations about the character and background of and indefinite number of predominantly Middle Eastern and Afghani people. Significantly too, the term ‘illegal’ serves to label as criminals people who are simply exercising their fundamental right to seek protection from persecution. Nothing can justify the irresponsible suggestion that asylum seekers might be terrorists, or the repeated disregard for our racial vilification laws. The majority of current detainees are found to be refugees and released into the community on Temporary Protection Visas. They will have to deal with ongoing negative attitudes that have been fostered first of all by our leaders.

We call for all exploitation of recent terrible world events at the expense of the people who are most vulnerable to cease. Linking all refugees with issues of national security in order to get the public to accept dehumanising and mistreating them is immoral and self-serving.

We wish to remind all Australians that the consequences of systematic dehumanisation of one racial or religious group in a society can be horrific.

We call for closure of all detention facilities in which innocent asylum seekers, men, women and children, are humiliated and incarcerated often for indefinite periods of time. Most established agencies are calling for an end to mandatory, non-reviewable detention and for a judicial inquiry into the management of and conditions in immigration detention facilities.

We call on parliament to repeal all laws that are contrary to Australia's human rights obligations and inconsistent with UNHCR guidelines and conclusions.

We call for transparency and accountability in all DIMA's dealings with asylum seekers. If asylum seekers are to be detained, we ask for a detention which complies with Australia’s International Human Rights obligations and which is subject to scrutiny from independent legal, social and medical experts.

Many of us who are financially able and have space in our homes are willing to provide for an individual or a family of people who are seeking asylum while their applications are processed.

Faces in the crowd - contributors

Australian Capital Territory
Jane Ambrose
John Brown
NR Brown
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre
Leigh Casley
Bridget Colless
Jim Colless
Stephen and Deanne Davies
Sandy Forbes
Ron and Sue Fraser
Colin Groves
Pamela Hewitt
Vivien Holmes
Gaik Khong
Elizabeth Kwan
Erika Langman
Fred Langman
Peter Lindsay
Libby Lyon
Maisy Lyon
Pete Lyon
Mark Martin
Thomas Mautner
Ian McAuley
John McLaren
Carmel Nethery
Penny Ramsay
Beryl Rawson
Jeff & Marika Simpson
Meredith Stokes
Patrick Sullivan
Thomson Family
Kerrie Tucker ACT Greens, MLA
Neil and Sue Wareham
Malcolm Whyte

New South Wales
Aarn
Action For World Development
Alison Barrett Casting
Chris Allen
Michael Antrum
Dick Armstrong
Marion Armstrong
Christine Asmar
Hilary Astor
Geoff Ball
Robin Barker
Carl Barron
Caroline Baum
Baxter Family
Ruth Bernard
James, Nicholette, Rebecca Black
David Boxall
Phil Bradley
Noelene Brasche
Tegan Brink
Gillian and Richard Budden
Meredith Burgmann
Marianne Bush
Byron Shire Echo
Dale Casley
Rafael Chemke
Ian Cohen
Christine Conlon
Anne Coombs
Isabella Cosenza
Pippa Craig
Rosemary Creswell
Toby Creswell
Myrtle De Soza
Mary-Louise Deveson
Liz Diprose
Ashish Diwan
Imelda Dodds
Jonathan Dyer
Timothy Edmond
Trish Edmonds
Kersti Elliott
Ben Ewald
Ann Feather
Judy Finney
Jane Forster
Judith Fox
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Australia
Lorna George
Richard and Jill Gordon
Dave Gray
Elizabeth Griffiths
Katrin Gustafson
John Hann
Kevin Healey
F Herscovitch
Skeata Hinde
Donald Horne
Myfanwy Horne
John Howard
Jamila Hussain
Monique Huyskens
Sophie Inwald
Nicolette Jackson
John Jacobsen
Andrew Jakubowicz
Diana James
Ellie Johnston
Nicholas Jose
Valerie Joy
E Joyce and friends
Clive Kessler
Yvonne Kosky
Emma Larking
Brian Lee
Susy Lee Deck
Hilary Linstead
Rae Litting
Genevieve Lloyd
Jackie Lloyd
Katherine Lustig
Lynne Madden
Louise and Richard Madelaine
Philippa Mansor
George Mason
Jan Mason
Yvonne McChlery
Rosanna McGlone-Healey
Peter McGregor
Karla Meyer
Karan Monkhouse
Rhonda Moussaoui
Annie Nielsen
Christina Norman
Monique Olgers
Jenny Onyx
Oz Positive
Katie Parks
Jocelyn Pixley
Jonathan Potter
Gary Price
Carol Quinn
T Quinn(SGS)
John Rainford
Don Reeves
Janet Reeves
Robyne Reichel
Alexander Reid
Betty F Reid
David Roach
Sheila Roberts
Peter Ross
Olivia Rousset
Ruth Rudkin
Rob Russell
Alex Ryan
Liam Ryan
Mollie Ryan
Penny Ryan
Peter Sainsbury
Eve Salinas
Mehera San Roque
Michele Schlosser
Mary Sciberras
Jonathan Shaw
Elaine Sherwood
B P Sloane
Gabrielle & Abby Smith
Jenny Spinks
Tony Spragg
Anne & Chris Stanton
Bob Steanes
Judith Steanes
Sarah Stewart
Tom & Narelle Story
Linda Sturmann
Graham Thorburn
Mary Travers
Samantha Trenoweth
Penny van Toorn
Susan Varga
Franziska Wagenfeld
Regine Wagner
Michael Walton
Richard Waugh
Roger West
Frances Weston
Steven Williamson
Gabrielle Worrall
Anna Yeatman
M Yen
Morri Young
Vera Zaccari
Tom Zubrycki
David Bowman

Northern Territory
Fay Johnson
Fay Johnston
Justine Mayer
Peter Morris
Rosemary Nairn
Barry Sulivan
Anne Wharton
Jackie Wurm

Queensland
D Bartlett
Marissa Bartlett
Jem Bates
Frances Bonner
Nicola Bristed
Tim Capes
Rachael Cleary
Julie Dean
Don Dignan
Laurie Duggan
Kerry Egan
Pauline Eglington
Timothy Essex
Derek Fielding
Mike and Kay Fishpool
Jefferies Foale
Mike and Pam Foale
John Gardner
John and Juliette Gardner
Good Sheperd Sisters
Scott Grimmett
Peter Hanley
Jude Harrison
John Hartley
Tina Horton
Rosemary Hunter
Marianne Idle
Marianne Jago
Dougald Knuckey
Shelley Kulperger
Kirsty Leishman
Jon Luly
Maybanke Association
Alan McKee
Felicity Meakins
Andrea Mitchell
Narelle Mullins
Allyson Mutch
Julie Neild
Luisa Nocella
Maggie Nolan
Rafael Pacheco
Mary Philip
Christine Ritchie
Annette Rowe
Michael Rubenach
Susan Sands
Judith Seaboyer
Rebecca Smith
Una Stephenson
Julia Stiles
Dominique Thiriet
John Tomlinson
Helen Towler
Tony Towler
Pita Van Der Vegte
Julienne Van Loon
Victor Von Der Heyde
Rohan Vora
Jan Wegner
Valerie Whitehead
Sinta Widarsito
Alix Winter
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - Australian section

South Australia
Julian Rutt
Stefan Adamek
Karen Adams
Margaret Allen
Sarah Alpers
Martha Augoustinos
Australia Student Christian Movement
Adam Barclay
Louise Barnes
Anna Beach
David Bennett
Ellen Bennett
Alan Boldock
Nina Boydell
Kirsty Brooks
Phil Butterss
Jill Cavanough
Terry Clark
Jane Copeland
Jenni Devereaux
Discourse and Rhetoric Group (DARU)
Ian & Anne Edwards
Christina Eira
Jaklin Eliott
Katherine England
Trish Fairley
Cassie Flanagan
Sabina Flanagan
the Late Patrick Flanagan
Janet Giles
Clare Gillam
John Gregory
Jenny Gunn
Margaret Gunn
Karen Hagen
Lynn Hall
Chelsea Hallett
Kirsten Heysen
Charlie Hill-Smith
Ros Irwin
Elizabeth Jardine
Hugh Kneebone
Peter Lee
Alan Lindsay
Sarah Lorenz
Alison Lowrie
Rosemary Luke
Gay & Brian Lynch
Susan Magarey
Mark McCann
Katrina McCarthy
Wyrda McCarthy
Lorraine McLoughlin
John Meggitt
Grace Mulraney
Jessamine Mulraney
Michele Nardelli
Joy Noble
Claire O'Connor
Robert & Sonya Paterson
Emily Petering
Lorraine Phillips
Carol Potter
Emily Potter
Wilf Prest
Rafalowicz Family
Lou Roberts
Ruth Rogers
Romero Community
Salha Nominees
Eva Sallis
Mounira Sallis
Ramsay Sallis
Roger Sallis
Souzin Sallis
Sumra Sallis
Peter Sandeman
Katrina Sedgwick
Martha & David Shepherd
Susan Sheridan
Pepple Shih
Elizabeth Silsbury
Robin Sinclair
Russell Sinclair
Sisters of Mercy - Adelaide
Howard Spreadbury
David Stephenson
John and Dawn Sullivan
Nina Switajewski
Irene Tam
Carla Tardivo
Joe Tardivo
Raffaele Tardivo
Moira Thomas
Claire Thomson
Sarah Thornton
TJK and SRS
Fiona Todd
Deb Tranter
Ray Tyndale
John Wallace
Margaret Webster Hypatia
Teresita Wilde
Sean Williams
Alan Wilson
Helen and Tony Winefield
John Wishart
Working Yoga

Tasmania
Sheila Allison
Peter Ball
John Biggs
Max Bound
Debra Dean
Kay and Chris Harman
Lhibou Hornung
Julia La Forgia
G Luttrell
Anne McConnell
Helen Osborn
J Pyefinch
Chloe Roe
Tasmanians Against Racism
Tasmanians For Refugees
Paul Thomas
Belinda Webster

Victoria
Gaille Abud
Ozlem Acik
Delia Allen
Elizabeth Anderson
Peter Annear
Chris Atmore
Jenny Barlow
Jeanine Barnden
Ruth Bartle
Bartolomei
Denise Becker
Melanie Beetham
Carmel Benjamin
Santina Bertone
Angie Black
PW & MV Bliers
Anne, Guido and Emilio Boscutti
David Bowers
Daryl Braithwaite
Susan Brennan
Barbara Brook
Lois Bryson
Aline Burgess
Julie Butler
Kate and Peter Cahill
Debora Campbell
Hilary Cantwell
Paul Carrick
Erin Cassell
Chameleon Casting
Pauline Chazan
Robert Chazan
A.M. Cooke
Patricia Cornelius
Stephen Corvini
Ann Curthoys
R and A Dabscheck
Allan J Day
Heather D'Cruz
Frances Devlin-Glass
Eleanor Dilley
Judith Dixon
John Docker
Sherron Dunbar
Jean Dunn
Carolan Dunn Family
Gregory Eckersley
Joan Eisma
Gerda Evans
J Evans
Peter Evans
Barbara Falk
Tony Ferguson
Tony Finch
Andrew Firestone
Jana Firestone
Sybil Firestone
D Fotheringham
Malcolm Fraser
Di and Roger Gabb
R Garcia
Alice Garner
Robert Glass
Mary Good
Good Shepherd Social Justice Board
Sue Gordon
Diana Greentree
Heather Gridley
Craig Griffin
Robert Gunter
Sulodi Hamid
John and Ragn Hannah
Mariana Hardwick
Sebastian Hardwick
Michele Harris
Jeanne and Brian Hart
Dale Harvey
Ria Hayward
William Henderson
Elizabeth Hollingworth
David and Jill Hooke
Barbara Hornung
Michael Hornung
Judith Houston
Annette Hulme
Deborah Hunn
Vip Insyxiengmy
Katherine Irving
Tim Isaacson
Jan Jackson
Jaensch
Claudia Karvan
Peggy Kerdo
Susan Kenny
Joan Kent
Vikki King
Anne Kotzman
Dominique La Fontaine
Jennifer Langmead
Jennifer Laurence
Sylvie Leber
James Legge
Helen Lenga
David Levin
Andy Lewis
Elaine Lewis
Woolfe Lewis
Muriel Lewis
Garry Livermore
Loddon Mallee Women's Health
Sally Low
John Lowe
Virginia Lowe
Martha Macintyre
Elizabeth Malcolm
Rosemary Mann
Meg Mappin
Lyn McCredden
Nicky McDonald
Simon McGuinness
Barry McGuinness
John McLaren
Gabrielle Mercer
Fran and Alec Millar
Pavla Miller
Sylvia Miller
Neil Monteith
Timothy Moore
Judy Morawetz-Avisar
Judith Morrison
Helen Morton
John Morton
Martin Mowbray
Sally Munday
Angela Namoi
Sue Nash
Jennifer Nathan
Maria Navarro
Mairi Neil
Clare Nelson
Cathy Oddie
Tim Offor
Offor family
Paddy O'Reilly
Hans Paas
R F Parsons
Lynette J Payne
Jenne Perlstein
Ivan Pogacic
Belinda Probert
Jean Provan
Mike Reed
Harro and Suzanne Reid
Jill Rivers
Archie Roach
Hannah Robert
Therese Robin
Marianne Robinson
Judith Rodriguez
Barbara Rogalla
Marion Rosetzky
Paul Rouse
Christopher Rowe
Rowena Ryan
Danny Sandor
Simon Sarra
Barbara Schutz
Lu Sexton
Pat and Mark Shannon
Tom Shapcott
Barbara Sharp
Jeanette Shopland
Nick Smailes
Charles Sowerwine
Candy Spender
Kate Stern
Don Stokes
Jennifer Strauss
Amanda Sutherland
Dorothy Sutherland
Peter Sutherland
Lawrence and Sam The Sound Lounge
Ian Thomas
Jennifer Thomas
Felicity Thyer
Mina Tiesi
Margaret Kathleen Tonkin
Peter Towler
Kheng Tu
Robert Walker
Monica Walsh
K Watson
D. Watt
Rob Watts
Barbara Webb
Leesl Wegner
Andrew Welsh
Western Region Ethnic Communities Council
Leesa Wheelahan
Sue Woodward
Ted Woodward
Marg, Les, Eddie and Sam Yates
Ruth Yeatman
Heather Yourn
Martin Yourn
Faye and Sandy Yule

Western Australia
Donald Allison
Lea Anderson
Ken Austic
Bayswater Community Aid Abroad group
Patti Benjamin
Audrey Bolger
John & Gwen Bucknall
ME Cannon
Tania Cobham
Penny Croker
Michael & Jenny Crouch
Sarah Cutts
Angela Durey
Tim Dymond
Frances Flanagan
Martin Forsey
Ian Fraser
Allan Grogan
Deb Hunn
Cathryn Hutton
Bob Jarvis
Pippa Jarvis
Laksiri Jayasuriya
John Kinsella
Marian Lester
Pat and Mark Lowe
Andrew and Mary Anne Lynch
JS McCarthy
Gavin Mooney
Jane Mulcock
Robyn Murphy
Paul Naunton
Carmel Nelson
Kersti Niilus
People of the Way
Kerri Phillips
David Ritter
Tracy Ryan
Andrea Shoebridge
Sirius Adventures
Angela Skinner
Jon Stratton
Sheila Suttner
Sandy Toussaint
D Turner
Ingrid Van Den Berghe
Michael and Michelle Watson
Michael and Valerie Wishart
Ted Witham
Anne Wortham
Chris Wortham
Ngaire Young


Others (state not indicated)
Abroad Group
MJ Arnold
Barbara Ashby
Johanna and Mark Blows
Geoffery Datson
Def-Drasnah
Davis Gregory
James Harper and Lisa Fenley
Tony Heselev
Sian Hughes
Heike Kath
Shan Miller
Julie Money
Barbara Rigsby
Bruce Rigsby
Suzanne D Rutland
Fran Smullen
David Taylor
Jane Tombs
Jeff Truman

International
Patti Miller, France
Henrietta Summers, Hong Kong
Stephen Saul, Saudi Arabia
Matthew Watterson, South Korea
David Davis, Switzerland
Matthew Pruen, UK
Jack Gray, USA
Erika Togawa, Germany
Gretl Hornung, America

This list was compiled from the emails and posted forms of contributors who indicated clearly that they wished to be named. If you contributed and would also like your name to be here, please let us know by email to eva.sallis@adelaide.edu.au