[Greens-Media] Witnesses to Manus attack need protection

[Schultz-Byard, Noah (Sen S. Hanson-Young)]

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Witnesses to Manus attack need protection

The Australian Government should bring the eyewitnesses of the attack on the Manus Island camp and the killing of Reza Barati directly to Australia and put them into protection, the Australian Greens have said.

"The men who saw the attack are in danger and they must be protected," the Greens' immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"The Australian Government exposed these people to extremely brutal violence and is now leaving them in serious danger.

"Bringing them to Australia is the only option.

"Scott Morrison can't guarantee the safety of the refugees he has locked up on Manus Island and he knows it.

"There is a better way, which involves increased asylum processing in the region and a boost to the numbers of refugees that Australia takes. That approach would save lives at sea while caring for people and boosting the budget bottom line.

"The Abbott Government's cruelty has a cost, sometimes measured in billions of dollars and sometimes measured in human lives, that has to be recognised.


Media Contact: Noah Schultz-Byard 0427 604 760


NOAH SCHULTZ-BYARD  STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER

OFFICE OF SENATOR SARAH HANSON-YOUNG
AUSTRALIAN GREENS SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
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